Margaret Ferrier

Margaret Ferrier was born to James and Jean Goodall on March 1, 1922 joining big brother Jim and spent her earlier years on Battlefield Road in the Mount Florida area. The Goodalls moved to the new suburb of Netherlee to Ormonde Avenue close to Netherlee Parish Church. Margaret or Mags as many knew her, attended secretarial college after high school and worked briefly in Glasgow before joining the WAF and meeting her life-long friend of 71 years, Muriel Skinner. Mags and Muriel became fast friends and we often in later years were entertained by their stories of life in the WAF and all its trials and tribulations, and fun! Mags who had very sensitive feet that were not happy to be put into ill-fitting Air Force issued shoes, relied on Muriel to break in the shoes for her so that she could wear them eventually with a minimum of discomfort. That's what you call a good friend. Mags was given a compassionate discharge from the WAF to come home before war's end to tend to her mum who was in declining health. I don't know that her children ever knew for certain how their mum and dad met, but we know that Mags was wooed by many and it was only after a lot of perseverance on Andy Ferrier's part that they were engaged and eventually married. Andy had grown up one street over from Ormonde Avenue on Ormonde Crescent, and it was perhaps at Netherlee Parish Church that their paths crossed. Mags and Andy were married on March 21, 1951 and as the story goes set off for a honeymoon in Perth and were almost snowed in! After Gill's birth and around the time Grant was born the family was living in Clarkston before a brief spell in Orchard Park and eventually back to Netherlee and Netherhill Avenue which was home for some 25 plus years. Margaret enjoyed the years on Netherhill, it was close to her dad and brother still on Ormonde Avenue and her mother-in-law Jean Ferrier on Ormonde Crescent. Mags was a homemaker and was kept busy managing the household and keeping track of Grant and Gill who attended Netherlee and Williamwood schools and were active in brownies, cubs, scouts and girl guides. Gill married early and moved initially to London, and Grant headed off to study the culinary arts at Langside Community College, and Mags and Andy were delighted to sample as many of his class projects as possible. Mags' aunts had all emigrated to the United States prior to WW II and in fact her mum had been visiting them in the states when word that the war was imminent sent her back to Scotland immediately. Although Aunt Red and Aunt Betty and their families had visited Scotland a few times over the years, it was Mags goal to take a trip to the states to visit them and that was the beginning of her travels. Gill had emigrated to Canada in 1974 eventually ending up in the United States in 1984 and so Mags and Andy took many trips to North America to visit. Mags was taken by all the different home styles and interior designs, and Andy took right away to American food with a great fondness for cheese burgers! After some sojourns down south Grant returned to the Glasgow area and married, and Gary and Ross were born with the family eventually settling in East Kilbride. The Ferriers were delighted to have family close at hand and grandchildren that were not many thousands of miles away. Andy Ferrier predeceased Mags after being diagnosed with terminal cancer the summer of 1999. This was a rough time for the family and although Mags had always said that she would be the first to go, Andy died on New Year's Day 2001 and so the partnership of almost 50 years was over. Mags seemed to adjust initially to life on her own although to her family it was becoming apparent that Andy's death was not the only reason that things were not all well with her, and eventually were told that she had been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Initially mum was able to stay on her own with a tremendous amount of support from Grant, but as time passed she became increasingly unstable and fortunately a place at Kittochglen Care Home was found. Kittochglen was mum's home for the last 6 years and her family credits the warmth, love and care she received there with the reason she was with us up until her birthday on March 1st. Grant and Gill are so grateful for all of the staff there and wanted to make sure that was acknowledged.


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