Dingwall woman's final wishes honoured with gift to Deaf Services to benefit hard of hearing

THE final wishes of a much-loved Dingwall woman have been honoured with a generous gift.

Mollie Shanks, who died months before her 100th birthday, asked that in lieu of flowers, any donations at her funeral should benefit local folk suffering hearing loss.

Before lockdown, a simple ceremony took place in the Deaf Services area office at Fodderty Way in the Dingwall Business Park when members of her family handed over 12 MiniTech personal amplifier/loop listeners for the use for those in in the community with a hearing impairment.

Before her death lasyt May, she left clear instructions for her family, one of which was that, instead of floral tributes, any donations at her funeral service should be used to help those in the Dingwall area who were hard of hearing, a disability she herself suffered from for many years.

Mollie never let her disability affect her and was a regular attender at Dingwall WRI and the Ladies Section of the Legion.

As her hearing deteriorated, she was a regular attender at local lip reading classes, but she eventually found difficulty in being part of a large group, joining in conversations and watching television. She was subsequently given a MiniTech by the local Deaf Services which she found to be of great benefit.

Two of her sons, Rod and Don, handed over the equipment to Lynda Campbell, hearing support co-ordinator and Amy Scobbie, administrative assistant.

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