Sandy Smith was a man of many roles; a distinguished Classics teacher and teacher of Russian; a leading local amateur actor; a radio broadcaster and devoted family man.
He taught classics at Dundee High School for 40 years and rose to become head of department and assistant rector latterly.
Sandy, who has died aged 96, was also a leading light in Dundee Dramatic Society for many years and served as chairman.
Born in 1926 in Sandeman Street, Dundee, Alexander Smith, always called Sandy, came from a humble background but was part of a close family who recognised and supported this scholarly boy.
He won a bursary to attend the High School of Dundee. He excelled academically and was a dux in Greek and the dux of the boys’ department for the year 1944/45, winning the Harris Gold medal.
Graduation
From the High School he attended St Andrews University where he gained an MA in Classics.
He had been inspired by his experience at the High School to become a teacher of Latin and Greek and after completing his teacher training in Dundee he started his career in Glasgow.
However, two years later he returned to the High School where he was to remain for the next 40 years as a teacher.
Sandy was to inspire generations of pupils for whom entry to many professions was assisted by a knowledge of Latin and Greek.
He was also involved in developing national courses on classical studies, attracting a new generation of pupils who did not want to learn Classics but who wished to learn about the Classical world and its influence on the current one.
Russian qualification
In 1966 he completed studies which enabled him to teach Russian at secondary level. He was also asked by Dundee College of Education to be a part-time lecturer in Methods (Classics) for teachers in training and became a member of the Scottish Examination Board Classics Panel.
From a young age he was a leading light of Dundee Dramatic Society (DDS) where his talents in acting and directing at the Little Theatre, Victoria Road stretched across all types of drama.
He eventually became chairman of the society and led it through a successful period when it expanded in size, membership and repertoire. Both Jean and Sandy were made honorary life members of the society in 2008.
Marriage
It was at the DDS he met his future wife, Jean, whom he married in 1957 and enjoyed a long, happy marriage of 65 years.
In the 1970s BBC Radio Scotland asked Sandy if he would provide theatre reviews covering the Tayside and Fife area.
He agreed and became a regular critic at theatres in Perth, Dundee, Pitlochry and St Andrews.
He recorded his reviews at the Coldside studio in Dundee. When Radio Tay was created he was approached by programme director George Mackintosh to provide a regular arts slot for the channel.
This grew in length and Sandy was happy to include reviews of other arts centres as well as celebrity interviews including Ian McDiarmid and Denis Lawson.
Medal presentation
He retired from teaching in the early 1990s. When he won the Harris Gold Medal for the year 1944/45 he did not receive the medal due to wartime metal shortages but was most touched to receive the actual medal on his retirement.
Sandy continued acting into his 70s but having, in retirement, moved to Hometay House, Monifieth, he decided it was time to give his final stage bow.
Following the building of the Channel Tunnel he was off with Jean, who hated flying, visiting many of Europe’s leading cities and their opera houses. With his granddaughter, Emma, he was still enjoying visits to Disneyland Paris into his 80s.
Public facing
His was a life lived fully, very often in the public gaze; be it with school pupils and their parents, with appreciative audiences when acting or directing or with radio listeners when he was broadcasting .
Yet he was a humble man whose main love was his family and his home town of Dundee. He was a tireless advocate for the arts but most of all an inspiring teacher who took great pleasure in seeing former pupils developing and making their own contribution to the public good.
He is survived by his sons David, a senior civil servant, and Christopher, a retired NHS executive.
You can read the family’s announcement here.
Conversation