When former Carnoustie dinner lady Nancy Wilson died, a bracelet and card were found among her possessions in her care home room.
They had been given to her almost 50 years before by a girl who was leaving Kinloch School after completing primary seven.
The touching note thanked Nancy for her kindness over the years.
Remarkably, the person who came across the bracelet and card after Nancy’s death was the same person who had given it to her as a child.
That child had become Nancy’s daughter-in-law but only much later in life.
Susan Balneaves had been a dinner monitor at Kinloch school and had set tables for lunch while Nancy was in charge of the dinner hall.
Treasured
“When I was sorting through Nancy’s things I came across the bracelet and card. I remembered giving it to her when I was in primary seven but had no idea she would cherish it for so long. I was so emotional.
“I only knew Nancy through the school back then but much later in life after I had a family of my own, I married Nancy’s son Rich.”
Nancy died at Brookfield Care Home, Carnoustie, on May 4 aged 90.
Her funeral took place on Monday, May 10, and neighbours in Ruxton Place, Carnoustie, some of whom were original occupants of the houses built in 1958, lined the streets in tribute.
Nancy was born at Craigmill Farm, Panbride, to farmworker Keith Tosh and his wife Annie.
She was educated at Panbride school before starting work aged 14 at Ethel Grieve’s fruit and vegetable shop in High Street.
Across the street at Black the butcher, her future husband Chic Wilson was working.
They met around 1945/46 when he was 23 and she was 16 and were married in the manse of the Old Church, Arbroath, in 1948.
For a period after their son Richard was born they lived with Nancy’s parents in Muirdum before moving to a cottage in Carnoustie High Street where they remained until the houses in Ruxton Place were built.
Susan said her mother-in-law spent around 40 years as a dinner lady at Kinloch during which time she saw generations of children growing up until her retiral in the early 199os.
Throughout their married life, Nancy and Chic spent much of their time at their boathouse at Westhaven.
They went lobster fishing in Chic’s boat, Anniebell, and enjoyed sitting in the boathouse and being close to the sea.
Susan said: “They spent an awful lot of their time down there. Regulations meant you could not stay overnight but they made the place comfortable with a wood-burning stove and a kitchen. It was the kind of life you dream of. They both had a passion for the sea.
“Both were great cyclists and many in Carnoustie will remember Nancy cycling by with her dog Skip in a basket at the front of her bike.
“Chic died 10 years ago and Nancy continued to love her garden. She led a quiet and contented life.”
The family’s announcement can be read here.