The tenacity, integrity and compassion of former Forfar councillor Glennis Middleton was remembered in a packed Reid Hall as mourners gathered on Monday to say farewell.
Mrs Middleton, who was 67, died earlier this month after suffering a heart attack and the shock felt across the area was reflected in the large turnout at her funeral.
Angus Lord Lieutenant Georgiana Osborne and Angus Provost Ronnie Proctor were among the mourners, along with SNP MSPs Mairi Gougeon and Graeme Dey, MEP Ian Hudghton and former MP Mike Weir, reflecting her commitment to a party which was said to be “part of Mrs Middleton’s DNA”.
Her husband Bill, a former Provost of Angus, and daughter Alison greeted people entering the Reid Hall for the farewell, conducted by celebrant Brenda Reid.
The gathering also included many past and present elected members and officials of Angus Council, figures from the emergency services and those connected with the many local bodies which Mrs Middleton worked with, as well as individuals she had helped during her many years of public service.
Originally from Irvine, Mrs Middleton moved to Easter Ross at an early age and was dux of her local school. She suffered tragedy as a child with the loss of her mother and spent part of her life in Yorkshire before moving to Tayside. Her work included a spell in the control room of Tayside Police at Bell Street in Dundee.
The congregation heard Mrs Middleton’s career in local politics began when she joined the shadow Angus Council in 1994. She remained as an SNP councillor for Forfar until last year’s local elections and her many roles included the convenership of the council’s social work committee.
Mourners were told Mrs Middleton would be remembered for her “tenacity, strength of character and her determination”.
“Glennis Middleton was a lady who touched the hearts of all who met her, simply by being who she was,” Ms Reid said. “I know her family was as proud of her as she was of them.
A collection was taken at the service to support Forfar Resource Store, an organisation Mrs Middleton had been closely associated with since campaigning to save it from closure many years ago.
Mrs Middleton’s coffin was carried from the Reid Hall to the strains of That’s Amore by Dean Martin, before she was laid to rest at Forfar cemetery.
