A PLAQUE has been unveiled in Nottingham in honour of a Mayo woman who gave all she could to people who had very little.
The tribute to the late Hilary Loftus, who passed away in 2016, aged 82, has been erected at the centre for the homeless where she previously worked.
Peter Radage, Service Director of Framework, the charity who run the centre, explained: "Hilary dedicated the last 23 years of her working life to feeding and nurturing the homeless. She was a wonderful cook, but more than that, she cared.”
Speaking at the plaque unveiling ceremony, which took place on August 18, Chris, a case worker who had also worked with Ms Loftus, said: “When you’ve been out on the streets for some time, probably in the cold and wet, lonely and demoralised - coming into a place where there’s not only shelter and food, but also someone who’ll listen and offer comfort or a word of advice, can be a life saver.”
He added “Hilary never judged. Everyone was treated the same – with care and respect. And they loved and respected her back.”
The plaque dedicated to Hilary Loftus in Nottingham (Pic: Graham Lester George)In 2008 Ms Loftus received an important looking letter.
Nervous, she asked youngest son Jason to open it.
He told her that the letter said that she had been awarded the MBE for her services to the community.
Hilary's son Jason speaking to local media at the the unveiling of his mother's plaque (Pic: Graham Lester George)Jason recalls: “She thought it was a wind-up.”
But the letter was genuine. And so on a soft Autumn morning, daughter Marion and Jason went with their mother to Buckingham Palace where the Queen presented her with her honour.
Friends, co-workers and family who gathered to witness this further tribute to Ms Loftus all spoke of her unfailing kindness and generosity.
Another former co-worker said: “She was like a mam to the homeless, and that’s what everyone called her – mam”.
Hilary, who left Ara in Co. Mayo for Nottingham in 1953, met her husband John – also from Mayo – at a dance in the city.
They married and went on to have six children.
She worked on at the centre into her late seventies.
