119441: Katie Mary Macdonald

Katie Mary (1926-2019) was a daughter of Angus Macdonald and Katie Ann Macleod, 1 Islivig. Her school days were spent at Islivig Public School. When she left school she was too young to train as a nurse but she set off for Glasgow and became a nanny with a Jewish family in the west end of the city. She began her nurse training in the Sick Children’s Hospital in Glasgow and then to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh for her general training. 

In 1956, Katie Mary returned home following the tragic death of her brother, Murdanie, to support her parents. In 1961, she was appointed sister in the children’s ward in Raigmore Hospital and stayed in Inverness until August 1964, when she married John Macleod, 8 Carishader. He was a former boyfriend, widowed with a young family. They lived in the Bernera Schoolhouse, Breaclete until 1968, when John was appointed Principal of Lews Castle College. Katie Mary resumed her nursing career and was one of the night sisters in the County Hospital, Stornoway. 

On retirement they returned to 8 Carishader, where Katie Mary looked after her elderly mother in law for several years. After John’s sudden death in 1998, Katie Mary continued to stay in Carishader. She managed in her own home and her final illness was short.