Rosemary Irene McClure (27 November 1943 – 18 August 2024)

Some will be aware that my Mum recently passed away at the age of 80. The following post is a rough transcript of the tribute I gave at her service of thanksgiving in Glasgow. In the tribute I’ve tried to paint an accurate picture of a life well-lived. She enjoyed nearly 60 years of marriage to Dad. She was the mother to four sons and she had fourteen grandchildren. It wasn’t all plain sailing, but her determination to know Jesus and make Him known has been seen throughout. My tribute falls under five headings:

Foundations/Flourishing:

I’m told that a good tribute enables people to learn things they didn’t know about someone. Mum’s beginnings are certainly an area I didn’t know much about. Mum was born in Quinton which is on the outskirts of Birmingham. Her parents were Jack Philip & Frances Irene Roberts and they had two children. Mum has an older brother called Aubrey. The family moved from Quinton to St Albans in 1949 because Mum’s Dad took up a role with the British Standards Institute (BSI) where he later served as a director. After completing her A-levels Mum went on to work as a librarian. She also helped with leading various children’s groups at the Presbyterian church they attended. It was there that Mum expressed her early love of Scottish Country Dancing – something that I’d never even heard about and something that apparently came to an end after what happened next.

It was there at the Presbyterian church, where in Mum’s own words, she met a handsome Irish man in 1961 who was working at D’Havillands in Hatfield. The story goes that Dad asked the man next to him about the girl sitting across the room. The man replied saying “she’s my sister!” Friendship soon followed and Mum saw in Dad a very different faith than the one she felt that she had. At this point it seems that she hadn’t yet made a decision to follow Christ for herself. This happened around the summer of 1962. Mum & Dad started dating soon afterwards, and they got engaged to be married on Mum’s birthday soon after that (27 November 1962). Whilst this seems incredibly fast, Dad told me that he already knew that she was the one for him!

In May 1965 they bought 74 Kingshill Avenue in St Albans (affectionately known as the ancestral home) and were then married on 18 September 1965. After their honeymoon in Switzerland, they resigned from the Presbyterian church and joined what is now known as Spicer Street Church. Latterly they also attended Ridgeway Church which was an offshoot of Spicer Street and eventually became its own independent church. Mum & Dad were active members for over 50 years in these churches until they moved to Glasgow in the summer of 2016.

Family:

Mum & Dad had four wonderful sons. Mum’s own account refers to us as ‘four lively mischievous lads’. Strangely, both Simon & I only remember three and stranger still, they were not the same three! Mum has written her own account of the pressures of being a full-time mum during these years. Family was her priority and she wrote of wanting to be home for us during the early years especially. She was notorious for making us regular drinks and had a tenacious desire to get us eating pears. Simon joked that this was why they are called pear-ants! Truth be told, if you turned down a pear then it appeared the next day in disguise – perhaps in a pudding! Mum also described herself as a taxi-mum because of all the ferrying around that she had to do for us.

In her own mind, the highlight of these years was when each of her sons came to know Jesus for ourselves! Jon remembers how thrilled she was when he told her he’d booked his room in heaven. Simon remembers how she took him to Billy Graham event where he was converted. I too remember telling my mum that I wanted to commit my life to Jesus one evening. She helped me to understand the steps I needed to take in order to do that and then the next morning she came excitedly to wake me up and I told her all about it. Indeed, she was thrilled.

Over many years and each of our ever changing lives, it’s been thrilling to see how committed she has been to all of us. I have personally called her on the phone two to three times a week for many years. Often this would be while I was on the school run. If I didn’t call, she would text to check that I was doing ok. Several times over the last few weeks I have gone to call her before realising that I can’t do that anymore!

Friends:

Mum has always been great at communicating and connecting with different people. Our home was often full of people especially for Sunday lunch. In the years before each of met our wives I remember how excitable she was about inviting young ladies back for dinner! Apparently, the communications industry in the Northern hemisphere has noticed a huge drop in phone calls, emails and FB posts since Mum’s stroke! She really was incredible and kept up with so many people. Often, I would ring her mobile only to find her speaking on the landline to someone else.

We know that she meant a great deal to so many people. The numbers who attended and watched her thanksgiving service were testament to this. After we sons grew up she spent 25 years working at Wheatfields Infants school, the school we had all attended in our younger years. She worked initially as a midday supervisor assistant, but also later in a whole variety of capacities. When she left there was a great outpouring of love for her and she was thrilled at the send off they gave her. She writes warmly of how they presented her with gifts including a digital camera.

Faith:

I’ve already said quite a bit about Mum’s faith in Jesus Christ. It does still however need underlining because it was so important to her. She never came across as very worldly and her priorities always seemed to be focused on God. In particular I can often remember seeing her pouring over her Bible which she read every day.

She also gave a huge priority to people. In the Navigators we talk a lot about getting alongside others and Mum was just brilliant at this. She was a ferocious sender of cards – perhaps you received one from her? These cards would typically include some Bible verse or reference to something she had heard, or had been reading recently. Although she might have protested otherwise, we really think she had a huge gift of encouragement. She was a very significant cheerleader for each of us. She loved to champion the things that each of us we were doing and she often proudly commended each of us to her friends.

She was also a woman who prayed fervently. In later years she would sometimes struggle to sleep, but she would use that as an opportunity to get up and pray. We could tell stories about people who she heard about from afar, and subsequently started praying for. I am sure that God used her prayer ministry significantly in our lives and the lives of many others. We wonder how much difference we will see in our lives without the benefit of her prayers.

Future:

The now vast McClure family is a huge part of Mum’s legacy. All of us will miss her, but we know that its only goodbye for now and we look forward to the day when we meet her again. These past few weeks, it’s been such a comfort to know that Mum is now with Jesus experiencing all that He has prepared for her. This isn’t just wishful thinking that helps us sleep at night – but a confidence based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ who Mum loved. One day when I was feeling particularly sad about Mum’s passing, God gave me this strong assurance that for her, there was a party going on in Heaven for a faithful woman who had followed Him wholeheartedly. I am sure that she has already heard “well done good & faithful servant. I am sure that she has already heard: “well done good and faithful servant.” I am reminded of what DL Moody said 100s of years ago:

“Some day you will read in the papers that D. L. Moody is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now.”

D.L. Moody

The truth is that Mum is more alive now than she has ever been. Our observation was that as she grew older, she grew more and more excited about Heaven. Her health struggles and the pain she faced on a daily basis, pushed her to Jesus. She said to a number of us in recent times that she was ready to go.

Mum & Dad have always been a team. So, it would be wrong not add a word of thankyou to Dad also. He has described himself as the head but Mum was the heart. The head needed the heart just as much as the heart needed the head. Dad also always played a massive role alongside Mum in giving us the very best start in life and helping us grow into the people we have become.

Thank you so much Mum and Dad for all you have done for us.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, ¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. ¹¹ You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:9-11