On our behalf, the moderator team would like to say a big thank you to everyone for your very kind comments about Alberta. She was indeed a very special and unique individual and a joy to work with.
As both a member and a moderator, she contributed so much in helping people with genealogical queries and research, seeming to expertly know her way around the system.
She once said:
“I started my family history because my family never really talked about their past. Both parents were only children, so when they both died in 1993/1995 I began to get curious. My son introduced me to computer searching, and that began my obsession with not only my own tree but helping others with theirs.
I visited Staffs records offices to get way back into my family history and have a briefcase full of paperwork. Luckily, all my family were born in and never left Staffordshire.”
She had been a member of this forum for over 23 years and was one of the very first moderators. She undertook this role selflessly and tirelessly, a lady who calmly carried out her mod responsibilities. She always seemed to me to keep perspective when things got challenging.
Indeed, things did once get challenging, when there was a major disagreement where the forum was nearly lost. Alberta, as always, stayed steady at the helm, ready to steer the forum back into calmer seas.
Although as an individual she was quite a private person, she did form strong bonds with the members, and said on her recent birthday:
“This year is my 23rd that I have been a member and feel that although never meeting a member (except from Astoness’s lovely son Tom, who brought me gifts when I was poorly), I feel that all members are friends...”
It is these qualities we will remember Alberta for. Engaging communities in history and helping people gain a better understanding of the past is challenging work that just does not happen by itself. There has to be a commitment to contribute time and effort; without this generous donation of time, things just don’t happen.
It also needs individuals to take the initiative and lead, and to step up to the mark to keep things in order and running smoothly. The key here is to try to do this work in the background as invisibly as possible and make it all run in a way we can all benefit from and be a part of. Alberta did this remarkably well.
We thank you with all of our hearts and will remember you for giving your time, your kindness and your generosity.
