Lillie Mabel « Lylagh Shields
Shields
Lillie Mabel
Lillie Mabel Shields (nee Ryder) passed away
peacefully in her 95th year at South
Shore Villa in Crapaud, Prince Edward Island. Lylagh, as she liked to
be called, was an early citizen of the Republic of Ireland. The
Republic came into being on December 6th, 1922
and Lylagh was born on July 18th, 1923. A
fierce and loyal supporter of the Irish Free State, she grew up in
Dublin and studied to speak and write the Irish language.
The daughter of a well established hardware merchant, she entered the
workforce as a clerk at Ryder’s Hardware on Baggot Street in Dublin.
Once through school she attended business college and worked as a
legal secretary. Early in the 1940’s she met the love of her life,
Samuel Shields, at Grosvenor Road Baptist Church. Lylagh was in the
choir and Samuel was a student minister studying in Dublin. They were
married in 1948 and spent over 67 wonderful and challenging years
together. Lylagh was soon in her lifetime role as mother and
as support to a country pastor. In the churches where Samuel
ministered, Lylagh was the one who typed and duplicated the bulletin,
taught Sunday School and volunteered countless hours in support of
church activities. In 1956, tired of the dreary sadness of
post-war England, she and Samuel packed all their worldly possessions
into 14 steamer trunks and sailed for Canada aboard RMS Carinthia with
three very young children. After serving for 4 years in Parrsboro, NS,
life saw them once again head back to Ireland & England on the
passenger-freighter Nova Scotia, but they had very fond memories of
Canada, and in 1966 they made their final crossing by sea to Halifax
on the Dutch liner Statendam. Samuel served in a number of small
pastorates in Nova Scotia, as they both enjoyed the closeness of the
small rural communities. Lylagh made many friends in these
communities. Lylagh was a kind and gentle person with an
iron will and a generous Christian spirit. Her philosophy was to make
the best of whatever circumstances she found herself in, and to help
those around her. She touched many. Never one to seek the limelight,
she was a dedicated and loving Mother, but Lylagh had inherited her
father’s outrageous sense of humor. She could be outgoing and witty
when the notion took her. In her latter years, and indeed well into
her eighties, Lylagh volunteered at the Upper Room in Charlottetown
helping to feed the less fortunate. Lylagh was the last
surviving member of her generation. She was predeceased by parents,
Ira & Lily; husband, Samuel; son, Niall: siblings Fran, Milly,
Joe & Sam. She is survived by daughter,
Jennifer(Terry); sons Brian(Sandra) & Eric(Liz);
grand-daughter, Jillian (Shaylor) and great-grand-daughters Kestrel,
Larkin & Sage. A special thanks to all the members
of the staff at South Shore Villa who made Lylagh’s final years as
pleasant and comfortable as possible. There will be a service at
Trinity United Church on Richmond St. in Charlottetown at 2:00pm on
Saturday, June 23rd with a reception to follow at the
Church. Family flowers only. Donations in Lylagh’s name may
be made to the Upper Room, Charlottetown. Funeral
arrangements entrusted to Dawson Funeral Home,
Crapaud. www.dawsonfh.com
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Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Lillie Mabel Lylagh Shields 2018.source
Décès pour la Ville: Crapaud, Province: I-P-E
