Tributes to 'selfless' mother and dedicated Glan Clwyd nurse

Isabel MacKay Rieder, of Conwy, died peacefully at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Ysbyty Glan Clwyd aged 69 on Monday, November 18.

Her family were by her side. 

(Image: Rieder family) Isabel, known to friends and family as Ishbel, received a diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease in October after bravely beating cancer. She had spent five months in ICUs at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, and Glan Clwyd. 

Son Duncan Rieder, a former Rhyl Journal reporter, said: “My mam died as she lived, with truly inspiring grace and courage. Either diagnosis is devastating by itself but she was so strong throughout.

“Despite the fact that she received two devastating diagnoses in the space of one year, she never once complained and never stopped fighting. She was a model nurse and patient throughout and we couldn’t be prouder to be her family.”

Ishbel with granddaughter Flora and daughter OighrigBorn Isabel MacKay MacBeath in Inverness on July 23, 1955, Ishbel was raised a Gaelic speaker in the small North Western Highland community of Applecross, Scotland, by her father Duncan and her mother Morag.

Ishbel met her husband, civil engineer Robbie, when studying business administration at Edinburgh Napier University. This was prior to her studying nursing in Greenock.

Ishbel finished her training at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness before moving to Conwy in 1988 for Robbie’s work on the Conwy Tunnel. The dedicated mum, who had daughters Eilidh, 40, and Oighrig, 31, as well as son Duncan, took a step back from nursing to raise her family.

At Ishbel’s daughter Eilidh’s wedding to Sam Evans with her husband Robbie (Image: Rieder family) Ishbel, a grandmother to Flora, aged six, Rowan, aged three, and mother-in-law to Sam Evans, returned to nursing in 2001 after working at Ysgol Porth Y Felin in Conwy. She worked at the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) for 17 years, becoming a senior staff nurse, before leaving in 2020 at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic due to ill health.In addition to her passion for nursing, Ishbel loved nothing more than caring for her family - including for her 98 year old mother, who died in 2015 - and watching Strictly Come Dancing with her daughter Oighrig.

Ishbel Rieder at the Laburnum Arch in 2023 with her granddaughters Flora and Rowan, their aunty Oighrig and Uncle Duncan (Image: Rieder family) Duncan, 36, of Conwy, said: “My mother never stopped learning. She prided herself on her ability to read ECGs, and she was always pushing herself to gain more skills. Even when she was on the ICU in Bangor, you could tell that from her bed she was fascinated by the medical action going on around her. The doctor in charge of the ICU affectionately called her ‘the queen’ and had a lot of respect for her. 

“I don’t think there is a room big enough to hold all the people whose loved ones she’s helped over the years, and the staff at Glan Clwyd, even those who hadn’t worked with her, clearly held her in lots of respect for her expertise and example.

“Throughout her life, she sacrificed so much for her children and my grandmother, and when her uncle fell ill in 2020, she would travel often to the south of England - despite the very real threat of Covid to her - to care for him. She was utterly selfless.

“The staff in both ICUs were so attentive and dedicated with my mam. Given that she was so dedicated as a mother and a nurse, her two greatest passions in life, it was so fitting that the NHS showed its best to her and she was surrounded by her family when she let go. The legacy of her care and professionalism in Glan Clwyd was clear in her time of need and we are forever grateful to all the staff for their compassion and hard work.”

While working at the CCU in YGC, Ishbel worked alongside former senior staff nurse Rajeev Metri for more than a decade, now a Denbigshire County Councillor for Bodelwyddan.

Cllr Metri said: “It’s really very sad to hear about the passing of one of the most kind-hearted friends and mentors. She was so caring, soft spoken and very well respected by patients, families, colleagues and students and always carried a beautiful smile on her face. 

“There are special people in our lives who never leave us, even after they are gone, and I learnt a lot from such a highly skilful and knowledgeable nurse. The most important thing I will remember is her advice that I should always ‘stay calm, be patient and always willing to learn.’ 

“She was the image of Florence Nightingale and without any doubt she has made very special place in every patient she looked after and everyone she worked with.”

Colleague, Helen Rooksby, said: “Ishbel was a stalwart of our CCU team. She was adept at caring for the most critically ill patients with kindness and above all, compassionate. She was an advocate for her patients and a fine mentor to her colleagues. Her personal qualities encompassed an ability to be absolutely dependable when the going got tough. She was trustworthy, conscientious, reliable and an extremely hard worker. 

“Isabel had a good sense of humour, a fine singing voice and a feisty spirit. She will be sorely missed from our CCU and cardiology team. Her legacy will endure in the love and respect she has engendered in the people who were fortunate enough to know her. 

“We have lost a fine colleague and a lovely and irreplaceable friend.”

In tribute to Ishbel, staff at the CCU are planning to have her name inscribed on the ‘Heart of Steel’ monument in Sheffield to commemorate her service to CCU, as well as adding her name to a bench at the hospital.

Ishbel’s funeral will take place at Clachan Church in Applecross at a date to be confirmed.