Popular NI farmer, 97, amongst Covid fatalities

A popular farmer and former civil servant Thomas Nutt has been named as among Northern Ireland’s coronavirus casualties.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Jun 2020, 09:01 BST
Thomas Nutt pictured talking at a family gathering at Ballymoney in 2010 to celebrate his and wife Esther's diamond wedding anniversary. Photograph taken March 27th 2010. Photograph by Colin MearnsThomas Nutt pictured talking at a family gathering at Ballymoney in 2010 to celebrate his and wife Esther's diamond wedding anniversary. Photograph taken March 27th 2010. Photograph by Colin Mearns
Thomas Nutt pictured talking at a family gathering at Ballymoney in 2010 to celebrate his and wife Esther's diamond wedding anniversary. Photograph taken March 27th 2010. Photograph by Colin Mearns

Mr Nutt died peacefully at Rosevale Nursing Home in Lisburn in the early hours of yesterday.

Aged 97, he was a familiar face in the farming community around the Maghergall area of Lisburn and was also well known in the city through his career as the local rate collector and civil servant before retiring in the early 1980s.

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Mr Nutt leaves behind his beloved wife of 70 years Esther, their five children Esther, Carol, Adrian, Elizabeth and Kathleen, 13 grand children and nine great grandchildren.

Born in 1923 in Donegal, Mr Nutt moved as a child with his parents and six siblings to Ballymoney in the early 1930s. He married Esther in 1950 after they met in Armagh and the newly married couple moved to Lisburn after a short spell in Kesh, Co Fermanagh.

During the Troubles he served with the UDR in the 1970s.

Daughter Kathleen Nutt, a political journalist in Glasgow, told The News Letter: “My father was a very much loved family man who lead a long, happy and eventful life. He loved recounting stories to us of his childhood, his time in India and his experiences in the UDR and of his activities as a farmer.

“He always had an colourful and often funny tale to tell, bringing much laughter around the family dinner table. We are devastated at losing him but pleased he was with us for so long and did not suffer at the end.

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“We would like to thank the wonderful staff at Rosevale Lodge and at his previous home Pond Park in Lisburn who cared for him as they would a member of their own family.”

After leaving Dalriada School, Mr Nutt joined the RAF in 1940 and was deployed to India where he served until 1946.

After settling in Lisburn he and his family became regular worshippers at St Columba’s Presbyterian Church where he was a keen member of the badminton club, and for many years an elder and church secretary.

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Related topics:LisburnNorthern IrelandIndia