Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
OPENING HYMN
PRAYERS FOR THE FAMILY Steven Reed, Pastor of Hemyock Baptist Church
SONG
FINAL HYMN
NOTICES
CLOSING PRAYER Rev Bill Musk, who led Nicola to faith in Cairo
As a family we would like to thank all of you for being with us at this time.
For ongoing updates on Hamish, Jonathan, Timothy and Katie, go to
www.hamisherskine.blogspot.com
Anne Nicola Erskine 11 November 1964 – 18 July 2010
Eulogy by her brother, David Parsons
As a young Doctor in the early 1960s my Father won a scholarship to work in Uganda and
my parents spent three months in Africa as a newly married couple. On route home they
stopped in Cairo and ventured into a Coptic Church. It wasn’t just any church. The church
is alleged to have been built on the site where Joseph and Mary lived after leaving
Jerusalem to flee Herod. Whilst my Father looked around the church my Mother spent
some time with the Priest who prayed that my parents should be blessed with children.
Their prayers came true and I understand that Nicola was conceived that very night.
Nicola had an inherent love of the Arab world and Cairo is of course the place where the
two most significant events of her life occurred: becoming a Christian and meeting
Hamish. European languages were not challenging enough for Nicola so she decided to
study Arabic at Durham. Her second year was spent in Cairo learning the language which
is when Nicola became a Christian. I remember how reluctant she felt to return to Durham
but she did and after completing her degree and achieving a 2:1 she immediately returned
to Cairo to work with the poor. She met Hamish and they married in Hemyock Church in
1991. Never one to do anything by halves, Nicola was slightly jaundiced and recovering
from hepatitis on their wedding day.
Turning the clock back, Nicola came into this world with fireworks. Quite literally. She
was born at Westminster Hospital, where my Father worked as a Houseman, on Armistice
Day 1964. In those days fathers were not expected to attend the birth and so, as you do,
my Father headed off for a relaxing bath. His colleagues gave him a running commentary
about the progress of the birth and when Nicola finally arrived his fellow houseman let
fireworks off in the bathroom.
I came along 2 and a quarter years later and of course I’ve recently been reflecting on our
childhood together. The reality of life is that all elder sisters can be annoying and my
relationship with Nicola was no exception.
I am quite certain that my lifetime loathing of Oxford Street started on a shopping trip
with Nicola as a teenager. We started at Marble Arch and headed towards Oxford Circus.
Miss Selfridge, Selfridges and onto Top Shop. You name it we went in. One shop blended
into another as we ventured down Oxford Street in search of a suitable outfit. Once we had
completed the length of Oxford Street, Nicola inevitably declared that she liked the first
outfit the best. And so, exhausted and bored, we returned to the very first shop to buy the
outfit that Nicola had tried on several hours earlier. In my experience Nicola could
sometimes be more adept at changing her mind than making up her mind!
Most annoying of all was the fact that Nicola was not only more intelligent than me but
she also worked considerably harder. I vividly remember the day that her A Level results
arrived. We were in Devon and I was having an early morning cup of tea in my parent’s
bedroom. Suddenly there was a terrific amount of high pitched screaming and yelling as
Nicola raced up the stairs shouting that she had got 2 A’s and a B in English, French &
German. That was in the days when A Levels were hard! To this day I have a lingering
sense of guilt owning up to my true feelings at the time. Of course I should have been
absolutely delighted about Nicola’s excellent achievement but in truth a bit of jealousy
crept in along with an overwhelming sense of foreboding that her success had just
ratcheted up my parents’ expectations about my own academic achievements.
On the very rare occasion that I did anything wrong Nicola had a habit of giving my
Mother a full debrief within minutes, if not seconds, of her arrival home. And she could be
stubborn and worst of all were the teenage silences that could last for a few days.
But Nicola was without any doubt always a very caring and protective sister. We were
both at school together in Sherborne for a short time and despite being her annoying little
brother she would regularly invite me over for tea with her friends and even had me to stay
for the weekend during her first year at Durham.
Cancer has few, if any, positives. One positive has certainly been the reinforcement of the
importance of family. In really difficult times you rely on family and see that blood is
indeed thicker than water. After many years of living in different countries I rediscovered
a closeness to Nicola during her illness. Differences that had been significant suddenly
became trivial.
Just 2 months ago, at the end of May, we celebrated my Mother’s birthday together and it
now seems amazing to think that Nicola was still relatively well. We were able to go for a
long walk together and we discussed many aspects of our lives.
Nicola told me that in Yemen all her friends were jealous of her marriage to Hamish
because he was such a wonderful husband. It is obvious to me that Nicola had a very
happy and fulfilled marriage and family life with Hamish and their three fantastic children.
Within a year Hamish has moved back to the UK, found schools for the children, found a
job in the UK, suffered the loss of his Father and now his wife. Hamish has suffered
unimaginable pain and I cannot thank him enough for his complete and utter support and
devotion to Nicola throughout their marriage but especially in the last 12 months.
I also have a sense from our time together of how frightened Nicola felt about leaving
Jonathan, Timothy and Katie. She was immensely proud of all of you and you have all
been a tower of strength and joy throughout her life and especially over the last year.
Nicola was very keen that Timothy should carry on with his recent trip to Malawi. I think
this was a tremendous act of self-sacrifice. It demonstrates clearly that your Mother wants
you to be independent and to make your own way in life. Ultimately she knew that she had
to trust God to look after you. You are all so different and talented in your own ways. This
is something to celebrate and I hope and pray that you will honour your Mother by taking
advantage of everything that your parents have provided for you. By fulfilling your
potential in life your Mother will be able to remain every bit as proud as she is today.
My parents really dedicated pretty much every minute of their lives to Nicola and her
family for her last few weeks. They rarely left her side at the Hospice. Mum & Dad, you
are the most selfless people I know. Nicola & I have never doubted your unconditional
love for us and I know Nicola found you a tremendous comfort and enormous support
during her brave fight.
Nicola touched all of our lives in different ways as a wife, Mother, daughter, sister or
friend. She came into this world with fireworks and her Christian faith had granite-like
strength. She was undoubtedly most comfortable in the company of those that are least
fortunate. Her spiritual and physical strength were quite remarkable and she survived far
longer than the medics expected whilst, to my knowledge, never once complaining.
Despite all her physical and mental pain and suffering Nicola gave all of us the most
beautiful smiles right until the end. She gave so much more than she took during her life
and Nicola carried on giving right up to the bitter end.
Nicola wanted today to be a celebration. We shall all remember and celebrate her life in
different ways. How do I want to remember and celebrate Nicola’s life? To me she was
full of love. She loved God, her family, her friends and people in need. Nicola was
bursting to the point of overflowing with love.
David Parsons.