Community united in grief
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Family and friends mourn the death of Lorraine Stewart at her funeral on Tuesday, October 14.
THE community of Magherafelt, and even further afield, were in a state of mourning on Tuesday, October 14, when the wife of local football star, Alfie Stewart, was laid to rest.
Lorraine Stewart, nee Johnston, (42) is understood to have suffered either a massive stroke or heart attack on the Whiteside Road near Randalstown on Saturday afternoon.
Mrs Stewart had been driving her Ballymena-defender son Aaron to his big weekend match when she died. Younger daughter Alana was also in the car when the tragedy occurred.
Her final words to her two teenage children were: "I feel light-headed."
Aaron explained how he waited with his mum for 20 minutes before an ambulance arrived.
The young footballer described the fateful events of Saturday:
"Mum was driving me and my sister Alana to my match against Linfield when she turned to me and said: 'I feel light-headed'. She just passed out after that and the car veered off the road.
"I managed to get my foot over onto the brake and we were stopped by a ditch.
"My sister was in a bad way and after I called 999 I was told to wait. We got bystanders to stop and one of them managed to bring Mum around for a minute. But after that she was gone."
Mrs Stewart was taken to Antrim Hospital, but tragically died. The large number of people at the funeral came as no surprise to the family as, according to Aaron, "Several hundred people had flooded in to the family home to pay their respects," following the news on Saturday.
The match Aaron was due to play in at Ballymena Showgrounds went ahead without him as news of the death of his mum did not filter through to his team mates in the Ballymena United squad until later.
Mr Stewart, who is Ballymena Reserves coach, was at a team match when he got the devastating news.
Don Stirling, Ballymena United's secretary, said that the tragedy had shocked the club.
"The game of football is not very high up the scale of importance in comparison with something like this," he said.
Grief-stricken relatives and friends who lined the streets outside the Stewarts' home on Sunday night said it was tragic for two teenage children to have lost their mum so suddenly.
Commenting on how the family were coping Aaron said: "I am coping okay but my dad and sister are in a state. There was no hint of any medical condition from my mum before this."
A police spokeswoman said: "There were no other vehicles involved and we are not treating the death as suspicious."
Magherafelt councillors from all political denominations have united in expressing their sincere sympathy for the family on their tragic loss. The sudden death of Mrs Stewart has affected the whole community, regardless of religion or political creed.
DUP Cllr, and close friend of the Stewart's, Paul McLean commented on the tragedy saying: "Alfie works with me in the church and the family have been close friends of ours for years so I was deeply shocked and upset to hear about Lorraine's passing. As a very close friend I extend my sympathy to the family circle and assure them of my prayers and thoughts through this bereavement."
Jackie Crawford, UUP spoke of his respect for Alfie Stewart saying: "I'm a football fan myself and I know Alfie well, even from his Coleraine days as I was a Coleraine supporter." He also extended his condolences to the whole family.
Kate Lagan, SDLP said: "Mrs Stewart's death is absolutely tragic. I extend my deepest sympathy to the family circle on this horrendous tragedy. Any sudden death is difficult to deal with so my thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time."
Sean Mcpeake, Sinn Fein added: "I didn't know the lady but heard of the tragedy on a sports programme on Saturday afternoon. I would like to sincerely offer my condolences to the family who have suffered a great loss."
