A “lovely and hardworking” grandmother had her dying wish fulfilled when her ashes were returned to a family grave in her home town of Liverpool – nearly 400 miles away from her home in Aberdeen.
Carol Hisken was born in 1943 and lived on Moscow Drive in Old Swan, before moving to Aberdeen when she was five. She had two final wishes when she died suddenly from a stroke in June last year, aged 78.
Carol returned to Liverpool in 2015 for the first time since moving to Aberdeen. She visited her mother’s grave in Everton Cemetery and was “absolutely beside herself” to see there wasn’t a headstone.
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The retired nurse wanted a stone to be put up – and for her own ashes to be laid beside her mother’s. The family held an internment last Wednesday (June 22), fulfilling Carol’s final wishes as her ashes were laid to rest.
Carol’s daughter, Carol Adamson, said: “My mother was a lovely lady and a colourful character. We loved Liverpool when we last came together and it’s bittersweet to come back here without her.
“We have every intention of visiting regularly. We have been so impressed by the welcome and friendliness we have received while visiting the city. Liverpool is very important to us.”
Ms Adamson, 60, said her mum ran a household by herself from just 13 years old and went through tragedy at a young age, as her mum died suddenly from breast cancer when she was only five. She added: “My mother was an exceptionally kind woman despite experiencing considerable adversity in her life.”
Ms Adamson said her mum had fond memories of growing up in Liverpool, including playing with friends across the road, going to the corner shop and being picked up from Lister Drive school.
Carol’s parents met in the 1940s during the war. Her father, James Farquhar, was a merchant sailor and an “unsung hero” in the war.
He happened to be in Liverpool when an air raid siren went off. Each sailor grabbed a girl by their hand to help them to safety in the shelter – and James happened to be paired up with Carol’s mother, Peggy Heathcote.
They settled in Liverpool before Carol was born. Carol herself leaves behind four children, seven grandchildren and one great grandson.
Ms Adamson said Mal Holmes, one of the Friends of Everton Cemetery, put a lot of effort into helping the family at the cemetery and was “so helpful from start to finish”.
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