Joan Mitchell, former Forfar Academy art teacher, Forfar town councillor and honorary sheriff, has died aged 83.
Mrs Mitchell and her husband Sandy ran a potato roguing business operating on farms around Angus and in the Borders.
She was a staunch supporter of Cancer Relief and the Red Cross in Forfar and used her art and design skills to support young farmers’ events and Glamis Extravaganza among others.
Joan Mitchell Hart was born in Edinburgh in 1938. Her father, who worked in banking, had moved the family there from Forfar.
Return to Forfar
At the end of the Second World War, the family returned to Forfar to reoccupy Joan’s grandparents’ home which had been requisitioned for use by Polish troops.
She began her education at Forfar Academy and finished it at boarding school in Easdale, Edinburgh.
Joan then studied for an art degree at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee, followed by a teaching qualification.
She had a spell as a peripatetic teacher of art in Angus before spending around 10 years teaching at Forfar Academy.
Town council
In the 1970s, Joan was elected as an independent to Forfar Town Council. She was appointed the town’s third bailie, a position known by the historic title of the hanging bailie.
During her time in local government, Joan was heavily involved in efforts to establish Lochside leisure centre in Forfar.
Always fiercely independent, Joan retired from local government in 1975 when reorganisation of local government ushered in a more party political era.
That same year she married farmer Sandy Mitchell of Lownie and provided great support to him on the farm and in their potato rouging business which, in the summer, could employ up to 19 students.
Honorary sheriff
Joan was appointed an honorary sheriff in Angus and served as a Justice of the Peace in the then Angus District Court.
In her younger years, Joan was active in many sports including hockey, cricket, tennis and swimming. She played for Forfar ladies’ hockey team and was a member at Forfar Golf Club.
She brought comedy trio Scotland the What? to play packed houses at Reid Hall, Forfar, to raise money for the charities she supported.
Joan is survived by her brothers Tom and Robin and their families.