The family of Perth veteran Elsie Mackay have paid tribute to their beloved mother and grandmother, who died aged 103.
Elsie was born on September 5 1920 in Sheffield, one of eight children for Joseph and Harriet Wilson.
After leaving school she took a job in a cutlery factory in her hometown which would go on to become the site of tragedy.
In 1942, Elsie volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), the women’s branch of the army. Her workplace was converted to a shell-making factory and was bombed by the Luftwaffe.
The day of the bombing was Elsie’s day off, which saved her life. But she lost her closest friends in the blast.
Soon after that dark time Elsie met the first and only love of her life.
She was in her early 20s when she encountered future husband Robert Mackay, a demobbed prisoner-of-war, at a bar. It was “love at first sight”.
The pair were married on July 6 1946 at Gleadless Church, Sheffield. But before long, Elsie left her Yorkshire roots behind to start a new life in Perth with signwriter Robert.
Hard work kept Elsie young
Soon, along came their first daughter – also named Elsie – who sadly predeceased her mother by eight years.
As a family of three, the Mackays took on ownership of a newsagents in Dunning, where Elsie was always happily hard at work in the early 1950s.
Two more children – a son, Robert, and daughter Morag – were born at Perth Royal Infirmary, and mum Elsie continued to work hard alongside her husband in various jobs.
Then one day, Robert Sr came home and announced he’d purchased the now-demolished Ardargie House at Forgandenny.
Surprised but always up for a challenge, Elsie took to hotelier life with gusto, kept company always by her beloved Shetland collie Laddie, on whom she “doted”.
After Robert Sr suffered a heart attack, the family moved again to Edinburgh, where Elsie took a job as a cook at George Watson’s College – a role she “loved” despite its intensive nature.
Finally, the couple settled in St Fillans, where they ran the newsagents and post office for many years.
Elsie lost her husband when she was 59 and lived out the remainder of her years as a widow.
But she was never idle, believing the key to her longevity was “to keep working”.
‘I’ve had my quota!’
Refusing to retire, she worked in another newsagents in Perth, owned by son Robert, until she was 85.
After that, she knitted voraciously, initially to support raising funds for Milnathort Primary School, where granddaughter Donna teaches. Her hats also went to various charities in the local area, including baby hats for Perth Royal Infirmary.
Unlike her late husband, Elsie disliked travelling and was “very much a homebody”.
But she would go to Australia to visit daughter Morag every year until she was 95 and no longer able, such was her commitment to spending time with her loved ones.
She moved into sheltered housing on Perth’s historic Bowerswell estate in 1991, where she remained for the rest of her days, cared for by son Robert and granddaughter Donna. She was both the oldest and longest-serving resident.
Each day, she would walk from Bowerswell to St Leonard’s Bridge and back – only taking the bus during harsh weather when Donna “begged” her to do so.
A keen baker, Elsie taught Donna all her best recipes and enjoyed a cake herself – along with a beer!
She was a firm believer in finishing her plate and having everyone at the table do the same.
But her indulgences all came in moderation, with her famous line after one glass of wine or Baileys being: “That’s enough, I’ve had my quota!”
Special goodbye for ‘a life well lived’
Elsie was a social butterfly who always enjoyed getting dressed up in something sparkly and spending a night with friends and family.
But she couldn’t let the night end without getting up to perform her signature ‘chicken dance’, which was always a hit among her loved ones.
Her 100th birthday was celebrated in style despite Covid regulations, with her friends and family turning out for a socially-distanced celebration “worthy of a queen”, courtesy of her close friend Maggie Burns.
Elsie died peacefully at Perth Royal Infirmary on June 7 2024 following a short illness. She leaves behind daughter Morag Davidson, son Robert Mackay, and grandchildren James Davidson, David Roberts and Donna Bell.
Averse to funerals herself, she expressly asked not to have a traditional service; instead, her family are saying goodbye to Elsie in significant spots across Scotland.
Her family said: “She was a modest woman who didn’t want any pomp and ceremony. But she deserved it. She always said she had a life well lived.”
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