A Donegal woman who spent 70 years as housekeeper and confidant to a wealthy London family lived a life full of happiness, according to one of her friends.
Brigid Ferry from Clonbara in Falcarragh died last week in the English capital where she spent almost all her entire adult life.
As a young woman Brigid was part of the large exodus who sought work in the UK immediately after World War II.
Her life though developed into one much less ordinary following an encounter with the Gimpel family.
“She planned to become a nurse, a wish that was partly fulfilled when she was asked to take care of a new born infant in London,” said Letterkenny man Tony Murray in a tribute to his friend this week.
“The mother of the child, Kay Gimpel (nee Moore), and Brigid became lifelong friends and Brigid became part of the family – as a housekeeper and educator spanning over 70 years.”
Born in Canada in 1914, Kathleen Moore spent the Second World War in London working for the Special Operations Executive as an interpreter and liaison for Allied agents behind enemy lines.
As the war progressed she moved on to the Air Liaison, eventually heading the section, the only woman to hold such a senior position.
When peace finally came she married Charles Gimpel, a Resistance fighter and concentration camp survivor. Together with Charles’s younger brother Peter they opened and ran a London art gallery, Gimpel Fils, showcasing paintings and sculptures by some of the finest artists of the era. It continues to operate successfully today.
Tony Murray said, “The Gimpels travelled to Donegal every year after 1970, no doubt because of Brigid’s strong attachment and her stories of home, and they ended up buying a holiday home in Derryherriff.”
Charles and Kay had two sons, René and Charles. After the death of her husband in 1973 Kay and René continued to run the gallery. She retired in the late 1990s when she was in her late 80s.
At Kay’s side throughout her life was Brigid Ferry. And such a part of the Gimpel family was she that she received a mention in Kay’s obituary following her death in 2009.
It reads: ‘Bridgie [sic] Ferry arrived as a girl in the late 1940s to do housework and child-minding and was still there six decades later, the glue between generations of Gimpel children and grandchildren and Ms Gimpel’s companion and most trusted of family retainers.
‘The two women – both in their 90s – continued to play Scrabble, do The Times crossword and entertain all and sundry although Ms Ferry did bridle occasionally at Ms Gimpel’s salty tongue’.
According to Tony Murray, Brigid Ferry’s life in London was “full of happiness”.
“She enjoyed an early morning swim and long walks in the evenings. She embarked on many holidays abroad with different family members.
“She was a great dancer and follower of sport, particularly where Ireland was involved. She always had a yearning for the rugby team to win the ‘Big Slam’ as she called it.
“A diligent churchgoer all throughout her life, Brigid had great friends, particularly aristocratic ladies, as neighbours around her at her Queensgate home.
“Her cooking was superb and her welcome to visitors like me was so warm. She always enjoyed stories, particularly if they were Irish ones.

“She was never without a smile or a hearty laugh when told a yarn and for the past six decades she made sure she had the Derry People/Donegal News every week.
“The extended Gimpel family treated her like a favourite auntie and in her declining years she had the great benefit of homecare. Kay’s son René and partner Fatima Kara were the soul of wonderful attention to her so that the need for her to go to a hospice was removed.”
Brigid Ferry was predeceased by her two brothers Paddy and Andy who died some years ago and her other brother, John, who passed away earlier this year.
Her sister-in-law Mary Ferry, Falcarragh, survives her as do many nieces and nephews.