John Joseph Corr

ninatoo · Post by **ninatoo** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:02 am

This post is to tell you about my Granda, John Joseph Corr who was born on January 10th 1914, and passed away peacefully yesterday at the age of 91.

Granda was from a large Irish family; his father immigrated to Scotland from Londonderry just before the turn of the 20th century, and Granda was one of seven children. He married my grandmother just before going off to fight in WW2 and came home unscathed to continue raising his family of four. We have a photo of him from those days, in his uniform, and he was a handsome young man, and you can see the shyness in his eyes.

Granda spent his working years at the "Callie" in Springburn, (where he lived all his life) as an engineer's labourer and railway shunter. It is amazing that he never ended up in the Metal Insustry, as that is where most of his family worked as Brass Moulders.

He was a quiet man most of the time, except when it came to discussing religion; he was a staunch Catholic, and was most disappointed in my Mum when she married my Proddy Dad. But he got over that and he and Dad became good mates.

I didn't know him very well. I left Scotland when I was four, and as he was not much of a letter writer, I never got to hear much of his life story...just what my Mum could remember. I met him again in 1973, and then in 1987, and both times he was very quiet, not talkative, preferring to just be around family and take it all in. You would think he didn't care that you were there, all the way from Australia, but for the meticulous grooming and "best Suit" he had on for the occassion. (And the pound he gave we three children as we left in 1973).

It was in 1987 that I asked him about his fighting days, because I was going to Europe after Glasgow, and I wanted to see if I could visit any of the historical sites where he may have been. All he would tell me was that he fought in Egypt and Greece, but not actual places. Like so many, he just didn't want to talk about it.

But that day I had a photo taken of him and I, and it has suddenly become very precious to me.

In recent years Granda lived independently, not wanting anyone to help him. But as time went on, he needed to learn to accept assistance, which was very difficult for him, not only because he was such a private man, but because he was also experiencing debilitating dementia. Towards the end this quiet gentle soul became quite difficult to manage, and he needed to be placed in aged care, which broke my mother's heart. Not made easier by the fact that Mum is here in Australia.

I wish I had known him better, and that we were with family at this time, particularly for my Mum. I will be visiting her and Dad later on today, and see if we can't get her home in time for the funeral.

Rest in peace Granda.

Nina

StewL · Post by **StewL** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:11 am

Sorry to hear of your loss.

May he rest in peace

Post by **Ina** » Sun Mar 19, 2006 5:25 am

Hi Nina,

So sorry to hear of your granda's death. This must be an emotional time for your mother, especially since you are so far away from Scotland. I pray that she will be able to get "home" in time for his funeral.

Ina

ninatoo · Post by **ninatoo** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:18 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone. Mum is doing okay, and has talked back and forth to Scotland quite a bit. Granda went peacefully in the night, which is a comfort. My aunt and her family are doing a great job, getting everything organised, and it must be no easy task under the circumstances. Still Granda was a very organised person, and had planned and paid for his own funeral years ago.

It turns out that for a variety of reasons, my Mum won't make it back for the funeral after all. She is very saddened by this, but it just can't be helped unfortunately. So she is now planning a trip later in the year, which is the best she can do.

My kids and I have been spending a lot of time at Mum and Dad's house, just chatting with endless cups of coffee, and she is happy with that, as she says it keeps her mind busy.

Yesterday we looked through some old photos and had some laughs and talked about some lovely memories. At first I didn't know if it was a good idea for Dad to get the photos (which I had been asking to look through for some time due to the genealogy) but she said it helped her a lot.

I am not sure when the funeral will take place, but he is likely to be buried at Lambhill, according to my aunt. Will all that snow delay things? I only ask as not having lived in Glasgow since I was four, I have no idea of the practicalities. Well I hope it all goes well for the day. Granda deserves the sun to shine.

Again, thanks everyone for the kind wishes.

Nina

Post by **joette** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:22 pm

Nice that you have such lovely memories & that you can support your Mum at this time.I shouldn't think the snow would delay the funeral by too much if it was to come.
Your Mum will be able to visit his grave when she comes & that will be a comfort.I know it sounds silly but i kept the cards on the flowers(rescued them from the compost heap at the cemetery)of my Granny's funeral & it still gives me comfort to read them to this day.Maybe somebody could take a digital photo of the grave/funeral & then e-mail it to your Mum so that she feels part of it all.
In my experience of Dementia it was usually the nicest people that became the hardest to deal with & nasty people were often nicer than they had been.He sounds a lovely man& one you can be proud of.