Sister Margarite Windle First of all, on behalf of all the Sisters in the A/I Region I wish to offer sincere and heartfelt sympathy to Sr. Margarite’s family, to Sr. Fionnuala, her companion in Community over many years, to Fr. Bill and the entire Parish community here in St. Joseph’s. We are grateful to God and to Margarite’s parents, Patrick and Margaret for the gift of their daughter to our Religious family of SCJM.

People are one of God’s greatest gifts to us. And what a wonderful gift we received in Margarite-affectionately known as Dora to her family. It is natural that we are sad today as that gift is taken from us, and we will truly miss her, but are grateful for all the blessings we have received through her.

Those with whom Margarite worked experienced her loyal, consistent, reliable support, and appreciated her insightful, committed and dedicated approach to whatever the task in hand. As a member of various Leadership Teams within our Religious Family Margarite gave of herself entirely to the growth and development of the A/I Province over many years. In her own quiet and gentle but firm way, she had the ability to look beyond the here and now and broaden the horizon of a discussion to move beyond ourselves as a congregation and include a more global aspect, and perhaps ruffle some feathers by doing so.!!

To those who are sensitive to the needs of others, life offers many opportunities to practise the commandment of love. It is not a question of doing big things, nor is it a question of necessarily giving things; rather it is a question of giving of oneself in little ways, giving of one’s time, energy and love. Without love we know the world would be a very bleak place. So it is not surprising that love occupies a central place in the Gospel. Christ said his followers would be recognised by the love they showed for one another; He even went further and said they would be judged on love, and St. John. Chrysostem was only echoing Xt. When he wrote ‘in the evening of life we will be examined on love’. Margarite will definitely have got distinction plus...

As she hears the wonderful words of scripture “Well done good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Lord”.

Each of us here today carry in our hearts our own fond memories of Margarite, that make up part of the rich tapestry of her life, and I wish to share with you Margarite’s own words, written on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee back in 2014. She wrote the following: -

“As I reflect on fifty years as a SCJM, I am filled with profound gratitude
➢ For my loving Catholic home and family.
➢ For my call to be a SCJM
➢ For my Congregation and the Communities to which I belonged.
➢ For my friends and colleagues who support me on my life’s journey
➢ For the many events, joys and sorrows that have shaped my life
➢ For the witness, inspiration and perseverance of committed SCJM’s

and above all for the invitation to:

‘live the life of Jesus, in the Father, under the radiance of the Spirit of love, and so to be apostles according to the heart of Jesus’ (C8).

Margarite remained a very active and involved SCJM right to the end, as she spearheaded research for the recent project on THE HISTORY OF OUR CONGREGATION; we owe her a very deep debt of gratitude. Thank you Margarite.

Today as we give thanks for Margarite’s life of loving service, we recall her many gifts which she shared so generously. Since her death so many people have talked about her quiet, gentle, unassuming presence. Her deep Faith and her Prayer Life were the guiding principles that sustained her through the ups and downs of life.

Let me borrow the words of John O’ Donohue when he wrote

“May you continue to inspire us.
Margarite may you continue to inspire us.
To enter each day with a generous heart.
To serve the call of courage and love.
Until we see your beautiful face again
In that land where there is no more separation,
Where all tears will be wiped from our mind,
And where we will never lose you again.”

May her gentle soul rest in peace.

Sr Elizabeth

16th November 2021

Sister Margarite was born as Deborah Windle on 29 February 1944 and died on 26 October 2021 surrounded by parishioners in the medical profession. She was known by her family as Dora and enjoyed a happy and carefree childhood in the beautiful north Kerry scenery.

In her early years she lived on a farm, handed down from generation to generation in the windle family. Neither she nor her siblings showed any interest in the farm, but all were encouraged to have a good education. It was said that Religion was in her genes. With the blessing of her family she entered the Convent of the Sisters of Charity in Monasterevan, County Kildare.

She trained as a teacher in Roehampton at the Institute of Education and then taught English Religious Education and Classical Studies at St Francis’ College in Letchworth, where she was house mother to students who boarded. She later studied Theology & Scripture at the Jesuit Milltown Park in Dublin. After this she studied at the Irish Catechetical Centre in Mount Oliver in Dundalk. On returning to England, she went to Stevenage where she taught Religious Education, first at St Angela’s and, after the amalgamation of two schools (St Angela’s for girls and St Michael’s for boys), at the John Henry Newman School.

In 1992, along with Sr Brendan and Sr Fionnuala (later to be joined by Sr Roseanne) came to assist on the Parish Team at St Joseph’s. Sisters Brendan and Roseanne predeceased her and for many years Sr Margarite and Sr Fionnuala have been a large and important presence at St Joseph’s. Sr Margarite became Catechetical Co-ordinator for the Epsom Deanery with specific responsibility for St Joseph’s Parish. While here, she trained as an assistant Religious Education Inspector for OFSTED and assisted with school inspections in Religious Education in the Diocese of Arundel & Brighton. She also participated in several workshops in Safeguarding. In 2016, she retired from full-time ministry at St Joseph’s Epsom, but continued to assist in a large variety of ways on a voluntary basis until her health prevented this.

Sr Margarite was to be seen walking to-and-fro between their home in St Margaret Drive and the St Joseph’s Church and Deanery Centre. Canon Bill recently described her as “the go to person”; she knew most of the parishioners and had a close and special relationship with the children of the Parish. Her activities ranged from very important to the most menial – if something needed doing, Sr Margarite seemed to always be there to do it.

Her family celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2014 and wrote “The qualities that impressed us were her dedication and fidelity. Dora has a great ability to bond with people and has many friends who hold her in high esteem. She is blessed with a wonderfully clear mind and is always the first point of reference when family issues arise. Because of her genial nature, she was always the favourite visitor to our houses in August. Her amicable compassion, kindness and generosity especially endeared her to her nieces and nephews. She became an expert in ‘hide-and-seek’, blackberry picking and making apple pies.” And the family tribute ended “There are no league tables to measure the success of Dora’s work in the vineyard of the Lord, but she knows that the Lord has His Register of Merit.”

Her memory will live on at St Joseph’s as an exceptional and invaluable contributor to the community, in fact as someone who as a mother figure nurtured and developed it over nearly 30 years. Maybe one day the St Joseph’s access road could be aptly renamed ‘Sr Margarite Walk’ in honour of her ever-present footsteps up and down, day in and day out, for almost 3 decades. May she now deservedly Rest in Peace and enjoy her heavenly reward with her Lord and with her three brothers. She is survived by two other brothers and her two sisters and her nephews and nieces.