'Norman has died. I will never, ever forget those words'

Rodney Edwards • Published 11 Feb 2010 10:37

"I didn't think anything was wrong but the doctor said they couldn't do any more. I didn't know what he meant. 'What, what are you saying?' I asked, and he simply said: 'We can't do any more, Norman has died'. Until that second it never crossed my mind that it was fatal. I will never ever forget those words, I'll never forget them. It was just a shock. It was just so sudden."

The tear-jerking moment pensioner Lily Hanna found out her loving husband of 52 years had died following a freak accident in Ballinamallard last week.

Well-known electrician Norman Hanna, who owned Hanna's Electrical in Enniskillen, fell 20ft from a forklift and hit a workbench while working at Walter Campbell's Joinery yard in the village. It's understood the 76-year-old was installing wires when he fell out of the forklift's safety cage. He died in the Erne Hospital last Thursday.

But speaking to The Impartial Reporter this week Mrs. Hanna explained that at first, there appeared to be no need for concern.

"Walter phoned me and said Norman had a wee accident but he had phoned for an ambulance. I said: 'What, what, is it bad?' 'Oh no,' said Walter, 'It's just best we do it'. Walter told me how Norman fell. So I went up to the hospital and they were just checking him out. There didn't seem to be any sense of urgency, that's why I didn't think there was anything wrong. Then they came and told me they were going to take him for a scan to find the cause of the pain in his stomach -- because when he fell, that's the only pain he had, this awful pain in his stomach. He wasn't even unconscious, he had no head injuries at all. They took him for a scan and on the way down for the X-ray, he went into (cardiac) arrest..."

Moments later, Mr. Hanna passed away.

"I couldn't believe it. It was a total shock. The minute before they told us he was gone it never, ever entered my mind that it was fatal. They never used any kind of words like that before; they were just checking him out. I thought he was going to be fine." explained Mrs. Hanna.

The postmortem the next day found that Mr. Hanna had died from internal injuries and cardiac arrest.

"They said it was such a shame he had died like that because he was an extremely healthy man for his years. And he WAS extremely healthy for his years. He could have lived for many more years, that's what hurts the most." she said.

Married for 52 "wonderful" years, Norman and Lily were never apart.

"Memories? Where do I start? I wouldn't know where to start. Just all the years we spent together were so lovely. We went everywhere together. He would have driven and we would have gone on a lot of holidays. We went all over the place; Singapore, Australia, everywhere. We loved visiting our children (Rodney, John, Alan, Wendy and Carol). Norman loved music and played the trumpet in Tempo Silver band. He loved good music and loved silver bands. He was in the Methodist Hall bowling club too. He loved the bowls and played bowls only last Monday night; having yarns with everyone in there, enjoying himself and having good craic. He adored the whole gang at Tracey Concrete and the Balcas Sawmill too, where he had done jobs over the years." she said.

"And last June was a real highlight for us. Gillian, our eldest granddaughter got married in Oxford. We all went over to the wedding. They hired a big country house and there was extensive ground around it and Norman just loved it. He loved looking around it and all the walking. That was the last great highlight." said Mrs. Hanna.

Norman was a hard-working man who was always on the go. When he started a job he had to finish it. He adored his job, right up to his final tragic moments.

"Some jobs he wouldn't have done. But this one for Walter he wanted to do. He'd always done work for Walter. He'd no hesitation because it was his job and he loved it. He looked forward to going to Walter's that morning. He was really upbeat and in great form. I made him a cup of tea and he done a couple of wee things first. Then he said he was away. He took his lunch box and left. About an hour and a half later he rang me. He was looking for another piece of cable. I couldn't find it and said it's not here. He said: 'Well, it's not here either. They never sent it'. He was quite impatient but that was him; always busy. I told him I'd ring them but he said he'd do it himself. And that was it. That was the last conversation I had with him." she said.

Over 1000 mourners attended the popular businessman's funeral on Sunday at Darling Street Methodist Church in Enniskillen and the burial in Aghavea Parish Churchyard. The Parish where Norman and Lily got married over half a century ago.

"It's just a hard thing to deal with but the support from everyone has been so helpful." said Mrs. Hanna.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 11 Feb 10

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