Agnes McGuiggan Tinsley

March 4, 1928 — Aug. 8, 2012

Agnes McGuiggan Tinsley, 84, died Aug. 8, 2012, with her family by her side in Placerville, Calif. Memorial services will be held Saturday, Aug. 18, at 11 a.m., at the Church of Christ, 4120 Missouri Flat Road in Placerville, Calif.

Agnes was born on March 4, 1928, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Alexander and Catherine Walker McGuiggan. She had five brothers and three sisters. She remembered as a teenager enduring the constant air raids from German forces during World War II. At the age of 14 she completed her high school education. After leaving school she worked as a seamstress at a sewing factory making uniforms for the troops. She found it to be a most interesting job that she enjoyed immensely.

Later in her teens Agnes became engaged to her fiancé, Hugh Tinsley, also from Belfast. Two years later she crossed the Atlantic to join Hugh, who was attending Abilene Christian College, studying ministry. She considered this one of the greatest adventures of her life. On June 12, 1951, the two were joined in marriage in Norman, Okla. Over the course of 10 years, they made several trips back to their homeland as missionaries. Over the course of time Agnes had seven children. Three were born in the United States: Catherine Jane, Paul Edward and Eryn Hughleen. Four were born in Northern Ireland: Julie Amanda, Don Allen, Timothy Hugh and Trudi Agnes.

In 1976 Agnes decided to further her education and enrolled at Contra Costa College as a full-time student, where she completed several courses. She was later employed by Richmond Neighborhood House in Richmond, Calif. She was instrumental in teaching handicapped adults and seniors the importance of physical fitness. She was widowed in 1990 after 39 years of marriage. Shortly after Hugh’s passing she went to live with her daughter, Trudi Wilson, and her family, where she lived for 19 years. She considered herself to have been blessed with a very colorful and exciting life with a heapful of memories.

This isn’t death — it’s glory!

It is not dark — it’s light!

It’s sunrise — it’s the morning of my eternal day!