Kirkcaldy grandmum’s knitted roses bring comfort to bereaved

Ann Simms (67) knits red and white roses which will be placed next to the deceased when they are laid at rest for relatives to visit at Ian Johnston undertakers in St Clair Street.

And Mr Johnston plans to hand them over to the families after their funeral as a little keepsake.

“I used to put silk roses in with people’s loved ones, but I think these hand knitted ones, which are made with a lot of love by Ann will be a bit more personal,” he explained.

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The idea came about after Ann lost her beloved son Richard three years ago. Richard (41), was a chef at Victoria Hospital and left behind four children aged between 5 and 17.

To cope with her grief she immersed herself in knitting and has been helping Ian, whose business has adopted the Link Up the Gallatown hub as its chosen charity.

Every Easter she knits chicks which are filled with cream eggs and given out to local children, while at Christmas she knits novelty hats for the youngsters.

When Ian heard that she also knits flowers, he asked her if she would like to do some for bereaved families, and she has since knitted over three dozen, with more in the pipeline.

“When I am knitting these it is quite therapeutic and it makes me happy that they will maybe bring a little comfort to families who have just lost a loved one,” said Ann.

Ian added: “Ann is a great support to us and her knitting brings a lot of happiness to families in the area.”