Tribute has been paid to a former parish and hospital minister who served communities across Scotland, including St Rules Church, Monifieth.
The Rev Tom Milroy, of Carnoustie, died at Ninewells Hospital peacefully on July 29.
Rev Milroy was best known for his work as a parish minister in Boghall, Bathgate in West Lothian, St Rules in Monifieth, and later as a hospital Chaplain at Ninewells Hospital.
David Jamieson, who was a contemporary and minister at Panmure, said Rev Milroy’s ministry was ”unconventional” but he was very considerate and good to his congregation.
”He was very caring and gave a lot of unheralded practical care and assistance,” Rev Jamieson said.
He said Rev Milroy’s left-wing politics were out of step for the time and he had ”an un-ministerial sense of humour,” but he approached his congregation as a good Christian first and then as a minister.
Before the area’s ministries merged they worked together as a team ministry sharing visits, school chaplaincies and swapping pulpits something Rev Jamieson said ”we were doing a long time before it became fashionable.”
He was born in 1926, the first son to Angus and Lilly, and was soon joined by Jack and Nan. They lived in a single end in Fallin near Stirling where his father worked down the pit.
He left school at 14 to take up an apprenticeship as a mining engineer, kindling a lifelong passion for fixing things, tinkering with engines and generally getting his hands dirty.
During the war he tried to get into the air force, but working in a reserved occupation was turned down. He did, however, serve in the army cadets, rising to 2nd lieutenant.
In Fallin he became involved with his local parish church and in youth work through the Boys Club movement.
After completing his apprenticeship, he left Fallin for youth work in London, Wales and with Outward Bound at Brathay Hall in the Lake District. He went on to work in Glasgow, and was one of the early pioneers of the youth camps on Iona and at Camus on Mull.
His work with the Iona Community led to study at both Glasgow and St Andrews universities and entry into the ministry with the Church of Scotland.
He went on to serve as an assistant minister at St Mary’s and at Wallacetown Churches in Dundee.
In 1960 he took up his first charge in Boghall on the outskirts of Bathgate. His ministry led him into the factories and businesses in the area, in particular the BMC factory in Bathgate where he was a well-known face on the factory floor.
Tom took up his second charge at St Rules Church in 1970. He once again became active in the life of the community and served for a time as a burgh councillor and later as a community councillor.
As in Boghall he also helped establish a range of community groups and clubs for young people. The church hall became the venue for regular youth clubs and discos for teenagers of the town and beyond.
He continued to work into his late 70s as a part-time hospital chaplain at Ninewells.
He married twice, first to Miggie in 1957, with whom he had three children. He then married Lilian in 1994.
He is survived by his children Ken, Sheila and Calum, and granddaughters Katie, Ruth, Sarah, Bethan, Eilidh, Morwen and Sioned.
He is fondly remembered by family and friends as a minister of and for the people, for his community work, for his commitment to social justice and reaching out with practical help for those in need, and for his good humour and friendship.
His was a life well lived.