Ken Fenwick, who joked he spent his National Service counting sheep in Wales, and then rose to the top of local government in Angus and Fife, has died aged 82.
He retired as director of housing for Angus Council in 1997, having started as a planning assistant in the old county council 40 years earlier.
Mr Fenwick also served as a director and treasurer of Forfar Athletic, was a founding member of Kingdom Housing Association in Fife, a Rotarian, Probus Club member and Red Cross volunteer.
Three doctors
He was also the father of three sons who all became medical doctors.
He was born in Whitehills Hospital, Forfar. His father was Peter Fenwick of Eassie and Georgina (Bunty) of Forfar.
Ken’s first home was a flat at 205 East High Street. It was next to Miss Young’s sweetie shop, was lit by gas and had an outside toilet.
He attended Forfar Academy between 1950 and 1956 where he was captain of the school’s 1st XI football team.
Leaving school
He was unsure about what career to follow but the school janitor alerted him to a vacancy in Angus County Council’s planning department.
Ken applied and landed the job. In 1958 he was called up for National Service with the RAF.
His wife Marion said: “He was a statistical clerk based in Anglesey and he used to joke he spent his National Service counting sheep.”
In 1960 he returned to the county council but was not settled in the planning department and took a job at Glenrothes Development Corporation as a housing assistant and rent collector in 1962.
The Borders
Ken won promotion to an administrative assistant in the housing department and, in 1965 had a spell as housing manager with Selkirk Town Council before returning to Glenrothes as a district housing manager.
In 1965 he became a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and a fellow of the institute in 1978.
Then it was back to Forfar as town factor and Reid Hall manager. Between 1975 and 1976 he was area manager and depute district housing manager for Angus District Council before holding senior posts in Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes.
Marriage
In Fife he met his second wife, Marion, and the couple married in 1987.
They moved to Forfar when Ken was appointed director of housing at Angus District Council that same year. Between 1995 and 1997 he was director of the successor authority, Angus Council.
Apart from his involvement with Forfar Athletic, Ken had a lifelong passion for football.
After his school playing days, he played junior football for teams in Forfar, Kirriemuir and Leven, was a past president of Forfar Boys’ Club and a committee member of Forfar Albion.
Crime prevention
Ken was a founding member of Forfar and District Crime Prevention Panel, on the management committees of Citizens Advice in Fife and Angus, a member of Fife Children’s Panel and involved in victim support work in Fife.
He was a founding member of Angus Housing Association and chairman of Angus Care and Repair for 10 years, and a keep fit enthusiast.
Ken served on the board of Forfar Athletic on two occasions. In the 1960s and 1970s he was on the old management committee before serving as a director and treasurer on his return to Angus from Fife.
The family’s announcement can be read here.