Aunt Margaret

My Aunt Margaret died last night. She was ninety-two years old; my Dad's big sister. She had suffered from dementia for years and was very frail. 
I have so many memories of Margaret that I wouldn't even know where to start. My Dad was extremely fond of her and when he was about six and she was about eight he beat up two girls who were teasing her, finally tying their pigtails together. When she was a little girl she used to get quite upset because she was sure that she and my Grandma would go to heaven while my naughty Dad and Grandpa would go to "the bad fire". She loved her gentle big husband David, and her only daughter Janet and of course her grand-daughter Anne. David was perfect for her because he was so calm while she was so volatile. My Dad once went to give them a lift somewhere and Margaret said of David (who was his usual good-natured self), "He's been defying me all day!" which my Dad thought was very funny. When David died (more than thirty-five years ago) she missed him terribly. When our David was born and I phoned her to tell her his name, she told me "I have never known a bad David!" Most of her long life she was very active; after she moved to Edinburgh to live near Janet she ran into some elderly people from her home town of Coatbridge and for a while they all used to meet up in Jenner's for coffee. She also went on holidays to Florida and to China. The last few years were very difficult both for Margaret and Janet but the home she eventually went into was excellent and the nurses there took very good care of her. I will remember her the way she was for most of her life - lively, funny, intelligent and adventurous.