Family's tribute to great-great gran who died with Covid-19

A woman who lost her elderly mum to coronavirus has praised the care she received before she died, saying the family always knew “it would take a pandemic to take her down”.

Great-great-grandmother Cathy Clarkson, 86, died on April 12 from Covid-19 at the Jewel House care home in Bingham, Edinburgh.

Her daughter, Cathy Hope, said the care workers at the home are “true heroes” and wanted to thank them for their hard work looking after her elderly mother.

Cathy said: “I just cannot fault them. They certainly made my mum feel so welcome there and she loved it. She had her favourites and they were all there when she died.”

The 54-year-old, who lives in the Gilmerton area of the capital, had to keep her distance from the care home due to government social distancing guidelines.

But the self-employed kilt maker said the staff always managed to keep her updated on how her mother was doing.

“Nothing was a bother for these staff. They were always happy to pick up the phone and let me know how mum was doing,” said Cathy.

“The last time I saw her was on Mother’s Day, but since then the care workers were so lovely at making sure I was told about what was happening with mum.

“I just couldn’t fault any of them, they stuck to government guidelines and they made mum so happy.

“It can’t be easy for them making these relationships, bonding with these elderly people and seeing so many of them die,” she added.

Mrs Clarkson was a great-great-gran of four, and had six great-grandchildren and seven grandchildren.

She was a mum-of-four but one of her children, John, died shortly after birth.

Cathy, along with her sister Liz Brown and brother George Clarkson, attended the funeral of their mother last Friday with just a handful of others.

She paid tribute to her mother, who lived in Edinburgh and worked as the housekeeper at the Beehive pub in the city’s Grassmarket for many years.

Cathy said: “She was still very much there and always looked out for me and my siblings, even at her old age.

“She was a hard-working woman, she didn’t retire until she was 72. My dad passed away in 1999 from flu when there was a really bad outbreak that year.

“Over the years there have been several moments where mum has caught something and doctors have said, ‘family should be here, this is it’ but it never was.

“We used to say it would take a pandemic to take her down.”