Maureen Crill Obituary

My wife, Maureen Crill, who has died aged 68 from complications of a uncommon autoimmune disease, was a nurse, nurse and wellness head who spent astir of her moving life connected challenging humanitarian postings successful Africa, South America, Asia and nan extremity of North America.

Practical, tough, down-to-earth and brave, she had awesome resilience, and her cool nervus marked her retired for nan demanding activity she carried out, often successful areas of equipped conflict. In each mounting her courage, elemental kindness, professionalism and taste sensitivity earned her respect and acceptance.

Maureen was calved successful Rusape successful Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), to May (nee Sime), a housewife, and Robert Lynch, a train driver. Her parents had near Edinburgh successful nan early 1950s and raised her to see nan UK arsenic her existent home. After finishing her secondary acquisition successful Bulawayo, she went to Edinburgh to train arsenic a nurse, astatine nan Royal Infirmary.

Maureen Crill astatine activity successful nan Tahoua region of Niger successful 2005

Rather than settling successful Edinburgh aft qualifying, she returned to what was past war-torn Zimbabwe successful 1979. There she worked arsenic a caregiver for nan Save nan Children Fund UK, moving mobile clinics successful remote, often insecure areas. Having witnessed nan deficiency of attraction disposable to women successful agrarian Africa, she returned to nan UK successful 1982 to train arsenic a nurse astatine nan Singleton infirmary successful Swansea.

As soon arsenic she qualified successful 1984, Maureen moved to Burkina Faso, wherever she provided training to accepted midwives connected behalf of Save nan Children while surviving successful an adobe hut, pinch nary energy aliases moving water. I was nan charity’s state head there, and she and I met soon aft she arrived: we joined successful 1986.

After 3 years successful Burkina Faso, Maureen moved pinch Save nan Children to Sindh state successful Pakistan, wherever she was a wellness and nutrition programme manager. She past became a organization caregiver (1989-91) successful nan Northwest Territories of Canada and Peru (1991-94), earlier switching to a much managerial domiciled arsenic a wellness programme head successful Cuba (1995-96) for Save nan Children and past successful nan Democratic Republic of nan Congo for Concern Worldwide.

Returning to nan UK successful 1998, she managed nan logistics of nan move of Save nan Children’s caput agency from Camberwell to Vauxhall successful London. But wrong a twelvemonth she was retired successful nan section again arsenic a organization nurse/midwife pinch Health Canada, serving Inuit settlements successful nan Northwest Territories and Kwanlin Dün communities successful nan Yukon, wherever we lived for nan adjacent 20 years.

Throughout her clip abroad, Marueen was a devoted scholar of Guardian Weekly, which successful those days was printed connected airmail paper. Copies would travel her, often weeks aged by nan clip she received them, and served arsenic her model connected nan extracurricular world.

In 2015 we decided to unrecorded retired our status successful bluish Spain, but not earlier 1 past spot of adventure: we flew to Mongolia, hired guides and camels, and rode crossed nan Gobi desert. At nan extremity of nan trip, surrounded by funny camels, Maureen buried her straw chapeau successful nan sand, signalling nan extremity of her adventurous years.

She is survived by maine and her brother, Gerard.