Anne Morgan: ‘She was a special lady who meant so much to us’

She wanted the piece to be a surprise for Anne, who was suffering with ill health at the time.

Sadly Anne passed away on January 19, but Paula still wanted people to know what a great neighbour she was over the years.

Paula, who is originally from South Africa, lived opposite Anne at Rushfield Avenue, just off the Ormeau Road, for more than a decade.

Speaking on behalf of herself, her partner and their daughter, she said: “It’s hard to describe Anne, she was a real character. We would often see her sitting in the porch in her red dressing gown or in summer wearing a straw hat and sunglasses reading. We nicknamed her Zsa Zsa Gabor!

“Anne celebrated each day. She understood the importance of family and sharing with neighbours and didn’t care what people thought of her. She was a strong Belfast woman with a great sense of community.

“Our relationship transcended the usual neighbourly greetings. Her door was always open, with people coming and going.

“Her house on the corner of the street was a hub – her nieces in a paddling pool in summer and her mother joining the gathering.

“She took our daughter in like another grandchild, treating her and her nieces on Fridays to fish and chips and freely dispensed parenting advice as a grandmother would do.

“Anne sometimes adopted a stray cat or dog. She had a little blind Yorkie which she took to the park in a child’s buggy.

“When Anne found out that she was ill her concern was to find her animals loving homes.”

Paula, an activity coordinator working with adults with different needs, continued: “Anne was kind but didn’t suffer fools gladly. You could rely on her for support, generosity and mostly brutal honesty. She never hesitated to mention when I should go on a diet or when my roots desperately needed a touch up!

“She was fearlessly outspoken and especially if she saw someone mistreat an animal on the street.”

Describing Anne as “a special neighbour”, Paula went on: “It is heartbreaking to know that we will not see our Anne sitting in her porch again greeting people who walked by. A positive light has gone out in our neighbourhood.

“In her last few weeks we said maybe she should get a blue plaque on her house: ‘Anne lived here, a good neighbour’. She laughed and said ‘I want one in red’.

Anne’s funeral took place at Roselawn Crematorium on January 23.

“She requested everyone wear bright colours to her funeral. The children collected for charity (Marie Currie Hospice) and being Anne she surprised us with a red coffin carried in to ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ by Van Morrison, while ‘Tell Me Ma’ sent us home uplifted.

“We in the neighbourhood will miss her dearly, but she will of course be especially missed by her family – her mother, son, daughter, brother and sister in law, grandchildren and nieces, who are also our neighbours.

“To our neighbour and ‘Belfast Girl’. We love you Anne.”

Stressing that “our beautiful Anne” meant a lot to her and many others in the community, Paula insists there is not enough neighbourliness, and certainly not enough people like Anne, these days.

“With the internet now people are getting less and less in contact with their neighbours and actually seeing people, so living close to Anne was a refreshing blast from the past. Her passing is a terrible loss to the neighbourhood,” she said.

“She was a really old school neighbour – open door, always helpful, brutally honest.

“She was just so helpful with any emergency, with anything we needed. She was just always there for us.

“It wasn’t even just in times of need. If she was even having any family things with her nieces she would include our daughter as well.

“We were always included in everything.

“If ever we were going to the shop we would always offer to get her anything she needed, especially when she was ill over recent months.

“It is so sad. We walk past Anne’s house expecting to see her and she’s not there.”

• Tell us about your good neighbours

News Letter features editor Helen McGurk’s article entitled ‘Everybody needs good neighbours: we’d love to hear about yours...’ asked readers to share their stories about their good neighbours – the people who would go that extra mile to help them out in times of need.

Helen shared her own personal experiences of life on her street and encouraged others to share their good neighbour stories.

Whatever the circumstances, if you would like to say thank you to a special neighbour please get in touch by emailing [email protected] or write to Helen McGurk, features editor, News Letter, Metro Building, 6-9 Donegall Square South, Belfast, BT1 5JA.

We look forward to hearing from you.