Life spent “illuminating others.”
On Tuesday 27th November family and friends of Marcia Russell gathered for a special ceremony acknowledging the last of a lifetime of achievements.
Tom Finlayson, Marcia’s partner of 35 years, joked with the 72 year old that she wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing him hit 70. He was 69 when the love of his life succumbed to cancer in the right lung and secondary tumours in the brain.
Right up until the time of her death, Marcia’s intellect and passion for learning didn’t falter. Having completed a Master of Arts with first class honours in 2009, she was halfway through her PHD when her health took a turn for the worse. So impressed by her work to date was the University of Auckland that they decided to award her with a Master of Literature (M.Litt.) with honours early. With Marcia’s blessing, Mercy Hospice set about converting the family day lounge into a venue befitting such an honour.
“Marcia was very clear about what she wanted out of the day,” says Tom, “Two things were very important to her. First of all, as a professional journalist, she wanted to be very clear that her work was not about glorifying herself. Her job was, as always, to illuminate the life of others.” Most recently her study was centred on highlighting the work of Elizabeth Riddell – a journo-turned-poet who first found acclaim in Australia as opposed to her native New Zealand.
“Elizabeth spent her early years working as a World War II correspondent in London,“ Tom explains, “Her work included the liberation of Paris. It was these raw life experiences that intrigued Marcia. She believed they tempered Elizabeth’s work. In the cut and thrust of New Zealand journalism, there was little room to celebrate the life of a woman whose poetry was more sharp than decorative. Marcia found an affinity with Elizabeth I think.”
An aspiring journalist in a male-dominated industry Marcia, faced many challenges herself. Marcia found prominence as Editor of “Thursday” – a Herald publication that championed women’s issues, deemed inappropriate by some, including fertility and equality in the workplace.
Instrumental in helping get TV3 off the ground, Marcia was founding Director of News and Current Affairs. In 1993 she was awarded an OBE for her outstanding services to journalism. Marcia’s profession would, most importantly, bring Tom, also a journalist, into her life. The couple met in 1975 when TV2 first started and they worked together on the award winning “News At Ten”.
The couple have one daughter, Kate. Tom says he is very thankful for the way the Mercy Hospice Team accommodated Kate, who struggles with a disability. “They just opened their arms to the whole family.”
“The second thing that was important to Marcia was that she wanted to use the occasion to say goodbye,” says Tom. Guests at the ceremony, with officials in full regalia, included Cath Saunders and Dame Cath Tizzard. Tom says that one of Mercy’s greatest gifts to Marcia and his family was helping them feel safe – safe to go through a tumultuous period in their life and to express how they felt.
“Opening Doors’ Viv James, in fact and all the Mercy Hospice Staff, were never intrusive,” he says,”They gave us privacy when we needed it. The way they accommodated our daughter Kate, who struggles with her own disability, was amazing. My daughter-in-law is a nurse and staff seemed to know instinctively that she would want to be involved with Marcia’s care.”
Just four days after saying her goodbyes, with little fuss and fanfare, Marcia died peacefully in Mercy’s in-patient unit. Just like Elizabeth, her work will no doubt continue to shine on.
Photo: Nic Finlayson.