In the Summer edition of the Woodside Free Press, we had the pleasure of chatting to Norma, hearing about her memories of Woodside and sharing them with you all.
We are sad to share that Norma passed away on the 2nd of October.
Norma loved Woodside growing up and her family were delighted when she got accepted to Laurel Lodge Care Home so she could return to the area.
Norma’s Daughter Carol said “My mum, Norma, loved Woodside. She was born there in 1937 and her grandparents and aunts and uncles all lived in the same area between Gt Northern Road and Bedford Road. She was an only child but loved playing with all the children in the neighbourhood. She attended Woodside Primary School, and it was a family joke between her and my dad as to who went to the best school (he was a Middlefield Primary loon).
“She married my father, Jim, at Woodside South Church in 1955 and they had 66 years together. Most of those years were spent in Northfield where they eventually settled and lived from 1964 until he passed away in 2021.
“When she was a girl her father, Alex, worked on the railways and he spent much of his time in and around Kittybrewster. Her mother, Ina, worked at Grandholm Mills (J & J Crombie). They both moved to Murray Court later in life and two of Alex’s sisters moved to Fullerton Court, so as a family they never really ventured far away from Woodside.
“Mum was a very sociable person and used to love dancing and ice skating when she was young. Years later, when she was in her late 60’s, her cousin gave her an old pair of white, lace up skating boots and she and her grand-daughter went on a few trips to the Lynx Arena at the beach. Age was definitely not a barrier to something she enjoyed so much.
“She was diagnosed with vascular dementia a couple of years ago and subsequently moved back to Woodside to Laurels Lodge Care Home where she passed away in October 2024. Laurels was great at caring for mum and keeping her occupied and engaged with trips, quizzes, musical entertainment etc. It’s quite fitting that one of her last trips out was back to the Lynx Arena to go ice skating at the age of 86! If you’ve never heard of wheelchair ice skating then believe me it’s a thing and we have the photos to prove it!”
