Children pay tribute to ‘caring, happy’ woman Margaret Moffatt, killed in Mallala train crash
Margaret Moffatt was preparing for a caravan trip around Australia when tragedy struck last month. Her children have shared what they remember her best for, ahead of her funeral.
SA News
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Margaret Moffatt beamed as she played with her only grandchild on a grassy hill overlooking Sellicks Beach.
For her, it was the perfect way to celebrate her 66th birthday – with her treasured loved ones.
The gathering at the Victory Hotel, south of Adelaide, was a precious time as she prepared for a caravan trip around Australia.
“It was the perfect day, the weather was perfect,” daughter Amy Slattery said.
“The Victory Hotel has a beautiful grass area and she took Isla-Rose out there and loved playing with her.
“It’s the last time we saw her.”
Blissfully unaware of the tragedy that would unfold just four days later, Mrs Moffatt kissed nine-month-old Isla-Rose, believing she would see her again before her April adventure.
But, just weeks from retirement, the medical centre receptionist was killed alongside her partner Ron Matthews, 73, when their car collided with a freight train on February 27.
The couple was dropping their pet dog, Cookie, to a friend’s house just 2km from their Mallala home when the tragedy struck.
“She loved travelling all over the world and now it was Australia travelling time,” Mrs Slattery, 40, said.
“She was someone that just didn’t care what anyone thought, she just loved life and all of its experiences.
“We were hoping to try for more grandchildren, which would have been beautiful for her.”
The crash happened two hours after Marg – as she was known to close friends – helped her team qualify for finals at Mallala Bowling Club after a stunning personal performance. Her son, Ben Moffatt, 37, was on a work trip in the US when he was given the “worst news ever”.
“I drove to the closest airport, threw down the credit card and said ‘get me to Australia’,” he said. “Then I just had to sit there and wait.”
Mr Moffatt – who said his mum was “very proud of what I had achieved after growing up in a small town” – remembered her as a “happy” woman who cared greatly for others.
When the family lived at Katherine, in the Northern Territory, Marg and her late husband, Peter Moffatt, ran a Civic Video store.
Mr Moffatt said late DVD returns were a pet peeve for his mum – only because she didn’t want people wasting their money.
“She was funny about it; it was always one of these things,” he said.
The family moved to SA in the early 2000s. Peter Moffatt was 60 when he died on February 26, 2009, from multiple myeloma – a type of cancer in plasma cells.
“When you lose your second parent, there’s not one there that can give you that hug,” Ben said. “Now, it’s just Amy and I.”
Mrs Slattery said she had just taught her mother to use the video app Snapchat to keep up to date with Isla-Rose’s milestones.
“I haven’t been doing videos, photos or those sort of things because that would be the thing I’d send to Mum,” she said.
“We’re all going to miss her.”
Mrs Moffatt’s funeral service will be held at Centennial Park on Wednesday at 3pm.