Family of Fermanagh businesswoman ‘overwhelmed’ by community support

After an 18-month battle with cancer, Hazel (64) passed away recently on Valentine’s Day – a day synonymous with love.

Hazel not only personified love with her kind actions, but she was beloved by many.

This was evident in the large number of people who stood out to pay their respects on the day of her funeral, braving some terrible weather to line the roads from her home on the Loughshore Road, Enniskillen all the way to Darling Street, as the family brought her back to her pride and joy, The Jolly Sandwich, one last time.

The late Hazel Johnston. Photo: Roy Crawford

Speaking of how overwhelmed the family were by the support of the local community following her mum’s passing, Hazel’s daughter, Carina Cutler, told this newspaper how they were all “so touched” by the amount of people who came out to say farewell.

“Somebody said to me that they’ve never seen crowds in Enniskillen like it since The Queen was there – and mum was our queen, and the queen of so many,” said Carina, also acknowledging one mourner’s comment that her mum was “the queen of Darling Street”.

“She left a good mark in the hearts of so many,” she added. A hard worker throughout her life, The Jolly Sandwich was Hazel’s “lifeline”.

“She loved the shop,” said Carina, who worked side-by-side with her mum in the café for many years, and now carries on Hazel’s legacy following her passing.

The late Hazel Johnston with her daughter Carina Cutler.

“Mum and I were very close. I have huge shoes to fill; if I could be half the woman that she was, I’ll be happy. I’ll just do whatever I can to make her proud,” she said, her voice beginning to break.

Describing her late mother as “so kind” and “very generous”, always wanting to help others, Carina said: “If ever there was a wake, she was first to the house with sandwiches and platters of traybakes.

“Everyone has their own little individual story [about Hazel]. Even the amount of customers who have come to us and said, ‘Hazel did this and Hazel did that’, ‘If we were leaving the shop, Hazel always gave us a pot of jam or a traybake’. She was very generous,” she added.

Hazel was also known as a great ambassador for Enniskillen. “If she had a thought or opinion, she’d put it across, but she always did things discreetly – she didn’t like to be the centre of attention,” said Carina.

The late Hazel Johnston with her daughter Carina Cutler.

After being closed for a week following Hazel’s passing, this week saw The Jolly Sandwich reopen its doors on the morning of Tuesday, February 22.

“It was very hard, reopening the shop for the first time, and mum wasn’t here, but I could feel her presence, I could feel her with us,” said Carina, noting that when her mum was taking her last breath, she asked her to keep sending signs that she was there, “that she’s watching over us and protecting us”.

She added: “Since we buried mum, so many signs have come about, just wee things that have happened, and we think, ‘Did mum do that?’ But it just gives us so much comfort.”