Jim Carson didn’t do things by half.
The old adage that “if you are going to do something then do it right” was a motto the proud 79-year-old lived by.
Surrounded by his loving wife Tessie, his eight children, grandchildren and many relations, friends and neighbours, Jim was laid to rest in Conwal Graveyard on a damp Wednesday afternoon last.
His funeral mass was a dignified affair with plenty of time for laughter and reflection, just the way Jim would have wanted it.
Born in Ramelton, Letterkenny became Jim’s hometown over the years.
His home at Binnion Avenue was his castle and that castle extended to helping his neighbours and helping to look after the street on which they found themselves living.
On that same street Jim could often be found cleaning his car, which car that happened to be sitting outside his home.
His trusted cap to stave off the sunlight and a bottle of ‘Son of a Gun’ in hand, the job was never half done.
His cap and said cleaner were two of the items brought to the altar of St Eunan’s Cathedral as symbols which represented his life during his funeral mass.
The other two symbols included a bottle of aftershave and a framed picture of his extended family.
Family really was everything to Jim and nothing was too big a deal for his wife Tessie or children.
His four boys John, Andrew, Seamus and Vincent always knew that their dad’s straight forward and no-nonsense outlook on life was one which would not steer them wrong.
And as for his four girls, Catherine, Lynn, Diane and Mairead, he was putty in their hands such was the love he had for them.
Tessie was Jim’s girl and they were dedicated to eachother.
There was hardly a time when you would call to Binnion Avenue that they would not be sitting beside eachother on the sofa in the front sitting room looking out of the big bay window onto the avenue on which they had raised their family.
But they had their adventures too including a trip to Disneyland and even a Carribbean cruise.
The aftershave tells the story of a man who wasn’t vain but always liked to smell and look well and his trim figure, strong jawline and well-groomed hair carried that look with ease.
Jim worked for many years in Bonnar Engineering where he was a skilled welder making many of the metal structures throughout Letterkenny and also becoming a crane driver for the company.
In his later years he became a security guard at Letterkenny Shopping Centre where he had a wonderful way with people.
Yes, there were tears and emotion as his family bid him a final farewell under the grey skyline at Conwal on Wednesday afternoon.
But they can take at least some comfort in the fact that Jim Carson always did right by them and he will always, always be in their hearts.
SM
