End of the Line
23rd Jul 2009
It’s been a long journey but today marked the end.
It started 20 years ago when Mrs D took a temp position as secretary with a small engineering company selling valves to the North Sea Oil and Gas Industry. Within a few months she had risen to the position of Sales Manager. A year later she had increased the company’s sales to such an extent that the company won the Queen’s Award for Industry.
The company became so profitable it was bought by a larger company and she was asked to take on the role of Sales Manager of the larger company too. This was a scenario to be repeated several times over the years until now she finds herself Sales Manager working for one of the USA’s largest international conglomerates.
Throughout that long journey from humble beginnings, a small group of people accompanied her along the way – each with their own talents and skills to contribute to the success of each new venture. Today I took Mrs D in to work to say her last farewells to these friends.
It was a highly charged atmosphere. With such a long history and so many shared memories it could not help but be an emotional one. I held my own tears in check but was finally undone in the carpark when the MD broke down in tears as he helped me guide Mrs D to the car and said goodbye to her.
Peter (MD)
Anita (Mrs D)
Neil
Nick
Carol
Lyn
Paul
Kevin
and me
Nine of us who shared a wonderful journey together. But while the train may carry on, the journey will never be the same – for today, the Fellowship was Broken !!!
Life with Mrs D 
What a wonderful career she had! I can just imagine what the atmosphere must have been like. Such a difficult thing to do. Maybe even more so for everyone else.
There were quite a few moist eyes, Jill. Like I said, I managed to hold my own tears back but was undone at the last minute when the MD started crying as he helped me get her into the car. Anita managed not to cry when others about her were in tears but once we drove away she broke down and sobbed.
I hope they kept the fellowship at the funeral?
They all took time of work, Dave – every one of them !!!
And this is where you have gone back to work today? Hope it hasn’t been too bad for all.
Quite a difficult day, Dave. Too many memories, too many people asking how I’m coping. And a few tears shed in the car while driving to and from work without Anita by my side
Duncan you’re a strong and stoic man. You’re a Celt with special
qualities and your wife sounded like a truly remarkable woman.
How she got through that day was nothing short of amazing.
She was indeed a remarkable woman, Ann – even if she was a bloody sassenach !!! 😉
We won’t hold that against her now will we? You do know what they say about the Scots… but we’re not going to because we’ll just leave them hanging lol.