It was an afternoon of fluctuating emotions in the Parish of Ballymore, this afternoon, as the retired former Priest-in-charge of the Parish of Clondevaddock was remembered by family, friends and fellow clergy at her funeral service in St John’s Church. And it was a tribute to the impact the small but ebullient wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother had on those she met in life that there was standing room only – both in the main body of the church and in the gallery – at today’s Service of Thanksgiving for her life.
It was a measure of the respect in which she had been held, and the affection with she is remembered, that clergy and friends from far and wide made the journey on a squally Monday afternoon to join Rev Shiela’s grieving family, led by her husband, Rev Canon Stanley Johnson, and their children, Timothy, Melanie and Wendy.
Rev Shiela was fatally injured in a road accident near Glenties, last Wednesday, in which Canon Stanley was also injured. It was in keeping with the couple’s generosity in life that, during the service, members of the emergency services, passers-by and hospital staff who responded to the accident were thanked by the preacher, Rt Rev Ken Good, at the request of Canon Johnson.
The service was led by the Rector of the Dunfanaghy Group, and long-time family friend, Rev Canon David Skuce, who described it as a privilege to be able to take Shiela’s funeral. “We go back a long time,” he said, adding, “Stanley and I started off in the training college together, along with a number of other clergy who are here this afternoon.”
During the service, the Johnsons’ daughter, Melanie, paid an emotional tribute to her mother. “She touched so many lives,” Melanie said, “it’s hard to know where to begin…three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren made mum the happiest person ever. She loved her family dearly and she let us all live our lives how we thought best – but she kept us all close and encouraged us all the time.”
Melanie recounted how in work and in her private life her mother did so much for others, even providing a second home for children with disabilities. Her mother’s love for Canon Stanley was “absolutely unwavering and an example to all of us,” Melanie said. Her mother bore all her illnesses, aches and pains, “apart from her loss of hearing”, with great humour. “Her grandchildren called her ‘Transformer’ – because of all the removable bits.” Shiela’s clerical life became “her true calling”, her daughter said. “She was involved in Mothers’ Union for as long as I can remember and contributed to lots of charities – even donating all the money she received from putting pen to paper and writing her own book.”
Retirement brought time to watch tennis, cricket and rugby. “She was a bigger sports fan than dad was and when she was watching rugby there were plenty of texts over and back; and there was always a piece of fudge consumed every time an Irish try was scored.”
Melanie said her mother lived an incredibly full and fun life, and had given them memories that would be talked about for many years to come. “She was incredibly proud of her family and was so excited to be asked to be godmother to Ralph – the newest of her great-grandchildren. She had never been godmother before, so she was absolutely over the moon to be asked, and Ralph’s blanket is now with her in her coffin.”
In his sermon, Bishop Good told the congregation that, “With Shiela there was something about her that was just that little bit different.” Her ministry, he said, and that of Stanley, “her dear husband, was greatly appreciated and highly valued”.
Bishop Good said the Johnsons became a formidable team – devoted to each other and supportive of each other at every stage of their married life. “Stanley has specifically asked that I express how deeply thankful he is to the Lord and to Shiela for [their] partnership of almost 60 years of marriage and the wonderful life and times they have shared together.” The Bishop also thanked, on Canon Johnson’s behalf, the emergency services, passers-by, hospital staff and the local GP for their care for the couple.
Bishop Good said there were four things he wanted to mention about Rev Shiela. Firstly, she knew how to live joyfully. “She has been described rightly as a very jolly woman…small in stature, yes, but with a big heart and a laugh that is memorable. Her laugh was infectious, wholehearted and loud.”
Secondly, Rev Shiela knew how to trust hopefully, despite considerable health difficulties in recent years. “I do believe that her faith in God’s grace and provision enabled her to accept the considerable challenges that she faced, day by day at times, because her confidence and faith and trust was in the Lord.”
Thirdly, the Bishop said, Rev Shiela knew how to serve wholeheartedly. “There were no airs and graces about her even in her ministry. She was down to earth, authentic, without pretence or affectation; she got on with her vocation.”
Lastly, Bishop Good said, Shiela knew how to encourage spiritually. “It is significant,” he said, that she was ordained on the 11th of June “because that is the Feast Day of St Barnabas, the encourager. I don’t think that thought missed her or escaped her mind. She fostered trust in and belief in God in people of all ages, and in people of all denominations and of none. Just as it says in the Ephesians passage (1: 15-21), her hope and her prayer in her ministry was that ‘God would give people the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they would know him better.’ That’s what she was about, but in a gentle way, not a pushy way, not an offensive way.”
The Prayers of the People in today’s service were led by Fr John Joe Duffy, the priest in the Roman Catholic parishes of Dunfanaghy (Clondehorkey) and Creeslough, and by Rev Shiela’s grandchildren. The Epistle reading was delivered by the Dean of Raphoe, Very Rev Liz Fitzgerald, and the Gospel reading by the Archdeacon of Raphoe, Ven. David Huss. Music was provided by vocalist Brian McKeever accompanied by Jacqui Amstrong on the organ.
Before pronouncing the blessing at the end of the service, Bishop Andrew Forster – who spoke to Rev Shiela a matter of days before the fatal road accident – expressed to the Johnson family the sympathy of all in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. Although the wider Diocese were saddened by the tragic circumstances of the loss of Shiela, they felt a deep sense of thankfulness for having known her and experienced her godliness. “Every time I met Shiela, I left her feeling a little bit better. You felt blessed having spent time with her. Her goodness and love made you feel that little bit more positive, all on account of her close walk with God.”
