Mairi Milne, of Kinross, a retired school teacher and semi-professional singer, has died aged 81.
She ended her career as assistant headteacher at Park Road primary, Rosyth, having taught at schools across Fife.
Mairi had toured internationally with the renowned Scottish Philharmonic Singers and more recently had been a member of Earn Singers.
She was born in Portsoy and educated at primary and junior secondary there before progressing to Banff Academy.
Early years
Her mother, Bunty, Mary Ann Margaret Reid, was a schoolteacher and her father, Lieutenant Patrick Bertram Williams, was a Royal Navy medical doctor.
After leaving school, Mairi, undertook teacher training at Aberdeen College of Education and then Moray House in Edinburgh.
Her first teaching post, in 1963, was in Edinburgh and she soon began to specialise in early years education.
Over the years she went on to teach at several Fife schools before taking up a post at Park Road Primary School in Rosyth.
Promotion
Mairi rose to the position of assistant headteacher in charge of early years teaching during which time she was responsible for the opening of the school’s nursery section.
In her adopted hometown of Kinross, Mairi was known for keeping and walking dogs, many she acquired from rescue centres.
Her friend Gillian Haycock said: “She adored her dogs, which were various, but a constant in her day-to-day life.
“She knew most of the Kinross dogs by name, if not their owners, and loved to walk the walk and talk the talk with other aficionados in her local area and during her wanderings around Scotland.”
Animal lover
Mairi was an advocate for all animals and a lifelong supporter of People’s Ethical Treatment of Animals, the RSPB and other wildlife charities.
“Mairi enjoyed being Scottish and was happy to be identified as a quine of the north, happily using her local dialect to confound listeners.
“She also maintained close links with her hometown of Portsoy and continued to be interested in local affairs.”
