Arabella - remembered forever!

The staff in our Scone service were understandably upset when Arabella, a wonderful lady they had supported for seven years, passed away.  They are delighted that Arabella's family remain in contact and were touched when they wanted to donate money to the service to show their appreciation of the care she had received!

In December 2021, Arabella sadly passed away at the young age of 62.

Arabella was supported in the Scone service for seven years where she settled into her flat straight away. She was a vivacious, social butterfly who lived life to the fullest. She loved trips into town with staff and relaxing in her flat reading her Vogue magazines, but best of all she loved sitting in the service garden, sipping on a coffee and enjoying an ice cream in the summer. Arabella had a love for music and listened to various artists, such as the Rolling Stones.  One of her favourite songs of theirs was called ‘She’s A Rainbow’. The lyrics in the song describe her perfectly.

Arabella’s family, who were very much involved in her life and visited her regularly, kindly donated some money to the Scone service. Staff got together to discuss how they could spend some of the money in Arabella’s memory and it was decided that they would revamp the service garden as Arabella would definitely have agreed to this, as she loved her time out there. Staff purchased a bench which was colourfully painted and had a beautiful plaque made, engraved in memory of Arabella. 

Arabella’s family had roses grown, lovingly named after her and kindly allowed one of the ‘Arabella’ roses to be planted in our garden in Scone.  Everyone in the service agrees that the garden is looking beautiful and has definitely got a touch of Arabella in it now!

Arabella’s sister, Emma, said: 

“When Arabella was given a flat in Scone my family and I were initially apprehensive as we didn’t know if she would cope with the independence after being in hospital for so many years. Arabella went for a trial weekend which she enjoyed so much, she refused to leave. She loved her flat and had a great time decorating it. When Arabella wanted company she enjoyed sitting in the snug which is a little sitting room in the staff office. She loved nothing more than her shopping trips into central Perth where she was always safely accompanied by a member of staff. The Richmond Fellowship Scotland support staff has been excellent at seeing the person behind the illness.

With Arabella’s own space and the support of the staff in Scone, Arabella’s lifestyle improved. The Richmond Fellowship Scotland gave her the chance of a happy life and her time in Scone will be fondly remembered by everyone. As a family we are so grateful for that and for the support they have given us too; not everybody in the big wide world understands mental health problems!

We all miss Arabella incredibly, but the garden now gives us a place of remembrance of the amazing lady that she was!”

Commenting is now closed on this article.