In loving memory of Etta Grubb

Funeral Serice for Etta Grubb
Tuesday, 8th October, 2024Video
Minister: John Johnstone

 

Etta was born on the 1st of March 1929 to Alexander and Effie Campbell, in the family croft in Gravir in the Isle of Lewis. She was the sixth of seven children, and is survived by her brother, Calum Iain. There was so much that was wholesome and memorable for children growing up in the Western Isles. Of course, it was not always an easy life. But Etta had the croft and the moors as her playground, and fondly remembered the times of cutting the peats and going down to her dad’s fishing boat for the herring and the mackerel. Etta spoke of how they only ate the herring, and that the mackerel was given to the neighbours. Etta would cut through the fields on her way to Gravir Primary School, becoming distracted by the sheep with their lambs. At home, the working sheepdogs were kept outside; however, one, called Meg, would somehow manage to dodge the adults and sneak into the house.

Etta’s father, Alexander, was quite a character. He built the family home himself and he was known as ‘the Toff’ because he was the only one in the village to have had a car at that time. In this way, Etta’s family were right at the heart of the community, as if the local doctor needed a lift for an emergency visit, it was ‘the Toff’ who would be called upon.

In her early 20s, Etta made her way to the mainland for work, first at the Blair Athol Hotel and then at the Fisher hotel in Pitlochry. It was in Pitlochry that Etta was to meet her husband, Roddy MacMillan from Barvas in Lewis, who worked on the buses, and on a service running from Kirkcaldy to Pitlochry. They married in January 1954, and were blessed with 4 children: Calum, and then Fay, who tragically died from meningitis at just 5 months old whilst on holiday in Barvas, and then the gift of twins – a girl also named Fay, closely followed a few hours later by Roddy, completing the clan.The three MacMillan bairns grew up in the Forth View flats, giving them the perfect view of the Links Market in the spring. Calum, Fay and Roddy would get a good taste of their mother’s upbringing because every summer holiday was spent back in Gravir at the family croft. They too experienced cutting the peats and chasing the sheep.

Sadly, Etta’s husband Roddy passed away in 1968, leaving Etta as a single parent. She embraced this task with determination and dignity, putting everything into looking after the children. Put simply, all of Etta’s children have said, ‘She was always there for us.’  Etta was a precious gift to her family. She began working in the school kitchens at Balwearie High School, and also went on to work at Fife central kitchens in Viewforth Street, and at the Abbotshall canteen. Through this hard work, the children never went without, and even had Marks and Spencers blazers to wear for school! Sunday was a day of rest, for worship at Kirkcaldy Free Church in Mille Street, where the children were taken to Sunday School, and also a day for family, visiting the wider family in Lochgelly and East Kilbride.

Etta was a lynchpin of the family. She would be the one to phone everyone and keep in touch, including her cousins in South Africa. Calum could set his watch to the weekly 3 pm phone call he received on a Sunday afternoon. In 1978, Etta was to meet her second husband, Dick Grubb. Once more, Etta would experience bereavement, losing Dick in 1997.

What kind of person was Etta? She was hardy! Fay remembers her mum hanging out the flat windows each week to give them a good clean; this was not for the faint-hearted. She was even painting and decorating right into her 80s! No doubt, much of this resilience stemmed from her upbringing in Lewis. She was a caring mother and grandmother. Fay recalls that when she broke her ankle, Etta dropped everything and headed up to Elgin to care for her. She was extremely family oriented, not just with phone calls, but also meeting up with her sisters on a regular basis, through in Edinburgh. Etta was fiercely independent. She walked everywhere and did not like being helped if she thought she could do a task herself.  She would often be heard to say, ‘I’m not a Campbell for nothing.’

As a native Gaelic speaker, Etta loved to listen to the Gaelic church service on a Sunday afternoon. She faithfully attended church for decades, up until breaking her hip in 2011. Following that break, gradually Etta did need to receive more help. Help was at hand from her children, and from her daughter-in-law Aileen, who met Roddy in 2010. Aileen fondly remembers many happy days with Etta, listening to her reminisce about her childhood in Lewis. Caring for Etta was not a chore. Her kind-heartedness and strength shone through, even in these tough years.

Etta had a dry sense of humour, and often responded to comments with a real twinkle in her eye. She kept active with knitting (her grandchildren benefited from her homemade jumpers), with puzzle books and also cooking and baking. She was sharp-minded and clued up on history and politics, and could often be heard ‘putting the world to rights’ whilst on long phone calls with the family. She could be a worrier at times, especially when the children went on holiday abroad. She’d remind them before such trips: ‘Those places are full of foreigners, but remember, you’re not foreigners, you’re Scottish!’

Etta passed away on the 16th of September 2024. She is greatly missed by her 3 children, Calum, Fay and Roddy, her daughter-in-law Aileen, her 3 grandchildren, Roddy, Nicola and Andrew, and by her 6 great-grandchildren. We are thankful to the Lord for her life, and for all she meant to her family and friends.