Tributes following the death of Fermanagh woman Beanie, 'a true Enniskillener'

Known to all simply as ‘Beanie’, the late Rubina Rimmer (80), née Hawthorne, died on June 7, and her grieving family has remembered her as a woman who “knew the town and country and could talk for hours and hours”.

Leading tributes to Beanie, her daughter, Beverley Elliott, spoke about her mother whom she described simply as “a legend”.

She added: “So many people have said she always had a smile on her face, and have remembered her one-liners.”

Born between the bridges on September 12, 1941, Beanie later lived in various parts of the world before returning home to Enniskillen with her three daughters: Natalie, Wendy, and Beverley.

She lived in Cornagrade before moving to Breandrum Park. In recent months, she had been a resident of the Millcroft Care Home.

Her working life comprised a stint in the Erne Hospital, Erne Laundry and Taylor Woods. Following Beanie’s death, the family have heard several anecdotes and read online tributes about Beanie and her time working in Taylor Woods.

Beverley said: “She used to sing away and she used to get everybody in trouble for singing!

“It used to be like a choir. She was so jolly at her work, and just sang away, but she was a great singer and a dancer.”

Explaining Beanie’s interests, and giving insight into her personality, Beverley said: “The cathedral was her church. She was a dedicated Poppy collector, and she went round to everybody, Protestants and Catholics, and everyone donated.

“She had a very mixed group of friends – it didn’t matter if they went to chapel or went to church. They would meet after and went to The Derby for chips.”

In addition, Beanie was a member of the WLOL91, where her mother had served as Worshipful Mistress.

Describing her late mother as a lady who “loved her lippy and having her hair done”, Beverley recalled how Beanie cherished visits to Riverside Hair and Beauty salon.

Beverley said: “In the days when she was fit and able, she’d have made all the other customers a cup of tea, and the craic apparently was mighty.

“She wouldn’t have moved, and would have chatted for hours and hours.”

Beverley added that Beanie had a “perfect last week on earth – it was like it was planned”.

She explained that Beanie attended a Church of Ireland service in the Millcroft exactly a week before she died, and had one last trip to visit her beloved Enniskillen.

Beanie Rimmer and daughter Beverley

Beverley said: “The Friday before she died was the Jubilee, and they told us we could take her out, and I had said to her, ‘I’ll bring you in a wee afternoon tea in’.

“If it was anything to do with the Royals, I would have always done a High Tea at the house, and she said to me she didn’t fancy it, and wanted to go to the Buttermarket.

“When she was able, she went to the Buttermarket café every day; she just loved it there. The girls there were always so good to her, and she hadn’t been since the start of the Covid pandemic.”

Continuing, Beverley said: “Afterwards, mum said to me, ‘Awk, we aren’t going back just yet to the nursing home’, and Neil Convey, the taxi bus driver, asked her where she wanted to go, and she said: ‘Just drive me up the town’.

“She just loved the town; Enniskillen was her life. Neil drove her up the town, and she sat with my daughter, Amber, and they looked at the new shops and everything that has changed.

“Then we went on to the Round O to look at the ducks and the water. That was her last trip out, and in the early hours of Monday morning, she was rushed to hospital, and she died on the Tuesday morning.”

Beanie’s funeral took place on June 9 at St. Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen, and was conducted by The Dean of Clogher, The Very Rev. Kenneth Hall, and Curate Assistant Rev. Christopher West, followed by a private cremation.

The funeral arrangements were conducted by Keith Elliott, W. T. Morrison Funeral Directors.

Beanie is survived by her daughters, Natalie (Brian), Wendy (Malcolm) and Beverley (Alan); her eight grandchildren; and her siblings, Patricia, Cyril, Lettie, Sylvia and Joyce.