Miriam Galea née Aquilina

The news that Miriam 'Aquilina' passed away left me deeply smitten although I knew that she had been terminally ill for quite some time. I had the good luck of getting to know her when she was in her teens at university. She was ever so clever and so cultured, yet always so completely devoid of pretentiousness. I can very well say she had taken after her father, who had been my professor of Maltese.

I was a colleague of Miriam's at Maria Assumpta Secondary Technical School. Everyone in our staff room admired her clothes, which were always smart and in the latest fashion, which she carried gracefully yet unassumingly. We both taught English and we used to be always submerged with copybooks to correct. She was not only a very competent teacher but also most conscientious, giving her students written work every week, correcting every mistake most meticulously.

I travelled together with her from Malta to Perugia in 1968 when we had a scholarship and we shared happy moments with other friends, which is something I can never forget. She was a pleasure to be with in every way.

It is hard to believe that Miriam is no longer with us on this earth although my path and hers often made us take different directions in life. I am grateful to have been given the chance of enjoying that warmth and simplicity of heart of hers, which come from a truly humble and noble spirit.

To her husband, daughter and relatives go my deepest condolences. May they find comfort in the Lord and in that their dearest one is now beyond all earthly suffering. For... "What is to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unemcumbered?" (from 'The Prophet' by Kahlil Gibran)