Family and friends of a popular Angus man have been left devastated after he was knocked down and killed while cycling in the Indian tourist paradise of Goa.
Former Merchant Navy man and Forfar publican Wally (Walter) Shuff died on Saturday morning when he was hit by a speeding driver near the coastal village from which he had been due to return next week after a regular winter break.
Mr Shuff had stayed on in Goa for an extended spell after long-time partner Janis Ramage returned at the beginning of the year to their home in Letham where she is being comforted by family members after the dreadful news.
The tragedy was relayed to her daughter Elaine Buchanan, who also lives in the Angus village, in a traumatic early-hours phone call on Saturday.
Still coming to terms with the shocking turn of events thousands of miles away, the family are now making arrangements to have Mr Shuff’s body flown back to Scotland.
A post-mortem on the active 64-year-old is due to be carried out and communication is being maintained with the British Embassy in an effort to ensure things move as quickly as possible.
Mr Shuff’s loved ones also understand that a local man has been charged and bailed in connection with the tragedy at the weekend but Elaine said that was of little comfort to her mum and the many people who have been shocked by the news.
The couple had enjoyed visiting the Indian state for many years, renting accommodation in the village of Colva which they had come to know well.
“They had friends there and were as much part of the community there as they are here,” Elaine said. “People who knew Wally here will realise how easily he made friends over there.”‘Hard to take in’She added, “The first phone call I got was very hard to understand and it’s just so hard to take in. I have been able to email a British friend over there and we have managed to get in touch with the authorities to try and get information on when his body will be coming back.
“My mum was getting everything ready for him coming home on the 24th and we just can’t believe that this has happened.”
Originally from Monifieth, Mr Shuff was brought up locally before completing an apprenticeship at the former Giddings & Lewis Fraser engineering factory in Arbroath. He then embarked on a career in the Merchant Navy with BP which would take him to many parts of the world and see him gain his First Officer’s ticket.
In later years he worked in the North Sea, where he rose to become offshore installation manager, the most senior post on the drilling platform.
Mr Shuff took early retirement in 1992 at the age of 47, having also around that time entered the pub trade as mine host of Raffters Bar in Castle Street, Forfar, which he ran for several years. He was then also able to enjoy his love of golf as a member of Forfar Golf Club and was a popular face at the Forfar Bowling Club.
A keen gardener and an avid reader, he and Janis, who were together for more than 20 years, had moved from Forfar to a new home in Letham only last summer to be closer to Elaine, her husband Stuart and their children Chelseigh and Zak.
Mr Shuff is also survived by his son Alastair, wife Lorraine and their children Kerry, Ellie and Connor in Southend, and Janis’s son and daughter-in-law Craig and Sarah Ramage, who live in Forfar.
Goa photo courtesy of Flickr user MrSnooks.