Tributes to Kingsmills Massacre widow Jean Lemmon

Jean Lemmon, a widow of the Kingsmills Massacre, carried herself with great dignity and without bitterness, former Stormont Minister Danny Kennedy has said.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Oct 2019, 17:05 GMT
Jean Lemmon, whose husband was murdered in the Kingsmills Massacre, has passed away peacefully at home in Bessbrook.Jean Lemmon, whose husband was murdered in the Kingsmills Massacre, has passed away peacefully at home in Bessbrook.
Jean Lemmon, whose husband was murdered in the Kingsmills Massacre, has passed away peacefully at home in Bessbrook.

He was speaking after Mrs Lemmon, who was in her mid-nineties, passed away peacefully at her Bessbrook home on Saturday. Her husband, Joe, was one of ten Protestant workmen gunned down by the IRA as they travelled home from work near Kingsmills in south Armagh in 1976.

A family notice said the great-great-grandmother had been the ‘much loved wife’ of Joseph, ‘loving mother’ of Aileen, Nelray and Shirley and mother-in-law of Albert.

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Ex-UUP MLA Danny Kennedy, who campaigned with the families for justice, described her as “a warm and friendly person who had carried herself with great dignity and without bitterness”.

He added: “Jean Lemmon was loved and respected not only by her family and many friends but across the entire community. Her warmth and sense of fun will be long remembered as well as her dignity and sheer humanity in the face of great personal loss”.

UUP councillor David Taylor added: “It is a matter of great regret that the families are still being denied justice after 43 years and that another relative has died without realising any form of justice. However the fight for maximum justice will continue.”

• The funeral service will be in her home at College Square West in Bessbrook at 12.30pm tomorrow (Tuesday).