An Olympic gold medal winner and internationally-renowned educationalist has been named as the victim of a fatal Angus road accident.
Police have confirmed 82-year-old Thomas Ian Morrison as the driver of a Mercedes car which was involved in a collision with a lorry on the Forfar to Bowriefauld road on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Morrison, known to friends as Ian, was a popular and long-standing elder at Dunnichen, Letham and Kirkden Church and had been delivering kirk newsletters when the crash happened at the entrance to Wester Lownie Farm.
His devastated widow, Isabel, described her husband as a ”very special person” and thanked the many people who contacted the family home, close to Dunnichen church, to offer their condolences in the wake of the tragedy.
A former teacher and lecturer, Mr Morrison achieved sporting fame in managing the Great Britain Olympic hockey team to medal success at the Seoul and Los Angeles Olympics.
He was named chairman of the Great Britain Men’s Hockey Board in 1984 and held that post for a number of years.
The same year, Mr Morrison also acted as chef de mission, or team manager, for the GB hockey team at the Los Angeles Olympics.
The team took an unexpected silver but Mr Morrison would go one step better four years later when, after an indifferent start to the Seoul Olympics, the squad overcame a qualifying draw and defeat to reach the final.
Victory over Germany ensured he led the country to its first hockey gold for almost 70 years.
Mr Morrison started out as a teacher at Stirling High School in his home town, later becoming a chemistry lecturer.
He was then appointed assistant rector at Brechin High School and the latter stages of his career saw him act as an education advisor for Angus, and later Tayside, education authorities.
He also co-wrote a series of school textbooks in the 1960s entitled Chemistry Takes Shape.
The Territorial Army and the church also played significant roles in Mr Morrison’s busy life.
He and his wife had lived in the hamlet of Dunnichen, just outside Letham, for more than quarter of a century.
Friends said Mr Morrison was a very active and hugely respected figure within the local area.
Dunnichen, Letham and Kirkden church session clerk Irene McGugan said his tragic passing would be a ”huge loss” to the kirk and the wider community.
”Ian had the right moment for each occasion he could be serious and very focused and then have a very light touch for the next occasion.
”He was very well used to in the church making appropriate remarks on both formal and informal events. Ian had a great warmth and a wonderful sense of humour.”
Police say that inquiries into the full set of circumstances surrounding the accident are continuing and, as with all sudden deaths, a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.
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