How did you get involved with CHAS?
I was working as director of social services with the Archdiocese of Glasgow and saw the job advertised.
I have always worked in care services and I was at CHAS for seven years. It was a wonderful way to finish my career.

What did your role involve?
I helped manage the organisation. I started in 1998 and Rachel House had been open two years.
We started fundraising for Robin House, a second hospice, which opened in 2005 with a lot of moral and financial support from the public - they helped raise £10million in three years.

How did you feel when Robin House opened?
It was wonderful. I retired on a high and had a real sense of achievement. To see it being used by the families was fantastic.
However, seeing the children ill is very sad. Their parents are great heroes, they are wonderful people.

What did you do when you left school?
I went to Australia at the age of 17 with the Little Sisters of the Poor Convent. I spent 10 years there and loved it. I would like to have stayed but I was posted back to Europe.
When I retired, CHAS presented me with a trip to Australia and I visited my former colleagues and friends.

You met Mother Theresa - how did that happen?
She was visiting Melbourne and I met her at the airport. We had breakfast and held mass together. She told us about her work in Calcutta.
She was very small and frail, but a beautiful person.

Where did you go after Australia?
I worked in France and Brighton and then my father died, so I decided to go back to Dundee, where I was brought up.
I worked for an adult hospice there for a couple of years and then worked for the Archdiocese of Glasgow.
Cardinal Winning asked me to take over the running of social services, which involved issues like homelessness, drugs, the elderly and learning disabilities.

You met Pope John Paul II - how did that happen?
I was on holiday in Rome with a group from St Matthew's Church. Archbishop Conti was in Rome and through him, we were invited to meet the Pope.
I felt very nervous, it was a very emotional experience and a great occasion.

What does your role at St Matthew's Church involve?
I am on the pastoral council and in the bereavement support group.
We visit bereaved families, organise a remembrance mass for them and pray for them.

How did you get involved with the Scottish Cot Death Trust?
I was asked to get involved by one of the board of directors of CHAS who is chair of the trust. I really enjoy my work with them and we are trying to raise the profile of the trust.
People think cot death doesn't happen as much now but 40 babies in Scotland died of cot-death last year.

How have you coped with job roles where you are dealing with death?
It can be very draining. It is something I have never got used to.
It's good to have friends to speak to about it and it's only natural to cry sometimes when you get home. My faith has helped as well.

Getting to know you

First car: A mini
First record: Neil Diamond - Jonathan Livingston Seagull soundtrack
Book currently reading: A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini
Favourite TV programme: Antiques programmes like Cash In The Attic and Flog It
Favourite holiday destination: Tuscany, Italy
Person most like to meet: Pope Benedict XVI