THE large congregation who attended the Requiem Mass in the Sacred Heart Church, Quex Road, Kilburn, London for the recently deceased Lolly Loftus, bore testimony to the high esteem in which she was held by her family, friends and community.

A member of a well known and much respected Letterkenny family, Loreta was born in Greenwich in 1949 and reared in McMahon Villas, Letterkenny, the third child of the late Christopher and Eileen Loftus.

Her uncle Frank called her Lolly, a name which stuck for the rest of her life. She attended Scoil Mhuire gan Smál and, after completing her secondary education at Loreto Convent, qualified as a nurse.
In his eulogy at her funeral, her brother Gerry remarked that Lolly was always a free spirit whose love of travelling was apparent from an early age. On one occasion she told her parents that she was going to the beach. Understandably, they thought she meant Rathmullan, but to their shock, she ended up in Galway and then headed to Cork.

It was not surprising to then find that after qualifying as a nurse and while on holiday in Italy she took up an offer of being a holiday representative. Lolly spent two years in Italy and became proficient in Italian. Upon going back to the UK she returned to nursing and was offered a share in a nursing agency.
Lolly moved back to Letterkenny to help care for her ailing parents and also worked in several hospitals in Ireland. She had numerous hobbies and interests and enjoyed watching television, becoming an aficionado about Coronation Street.

The celebrant, Fr Llango, spoke of Lolly’s faith, joviality, generosity and of her desire to keep her fond memories of Letterkenny alive by her indulgence in Emerald Sweets.
Lolly will be sadly missed by her daughter, Zoe, grandson Lincon, brother, Gerry, sisters, Marie and Gaye, nieces, nephews and extended family and friends.
She was predeceased by her parents, her brother, Patrick and her sister, Geraldine.

Lolly’s remains will be interred in New Leck Cemetery at a later date.