Tributes have flooded in after the passing of Harry Thomason, who “devoted himself” to Crieff.
Harry died peacefully at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee having fought cancer for the previous year.
During this time he continued his role as the chairman of the Crieff Community Council, a role he held for the final four years of his life.
June Mcewan met Harry 35 years ago, shortly after she moved to the town from Moffat, when he was standing on Broich Terrace with the ‘Crieff worthies’.
These were a group of men who used to meet up on town corners and put the world to rights.
June says there aren’t many left of them now.
“There are still a few worthies but not many,” she said.
“The people we used to see on the corners are all gone.
“Harry’s death feels like the end of an era of the oldies of Crieff.”
Tough work at battery farm
Harry came from a well-known local family and spent all of his 74 years in Crieff.
He attended both the town’s primary and secondary schools and had a series of farming jobs.
One of these was in a poultry factory in Muthill.
“The chicken shed was one of the worst jobs you could have,” said childhood friend Isabel Simpson.
“It was in the time of battery chickens.”
Single father to two boys
His 13-year marriage to Elizabeth McCulloch ended when their children Michael, Brian and Elizabeth were still young.
The couple remained good friends as Harry brought up the boys and Elizabeth took care of their daughter.
Harry’s community activism began when he retired.
“He was a good guy who just worked hard and looked after the family,” said Isabel, who got to know Harry through her younger brother Donald.
“When he retired he just needed something to do.”
Moans turned to activism
June recalls it well.
“I met him one day after he had retired,” she explained.
“I used to go to lots of meetings and he was moaning about the state of Crieff, the cracks in the road, the potholes.
“I told him to stop moaning and go on the community council and do something about it – but I didn’t expect him to do it!”
Prolific volunteer
Harry put his heart and soul into the position and soon became chairman.
He dealt with potholes, fought for a 20mph sign outside the high school, and managed to get grit bins and traffic lights installed.
He also volunteered in a number of local groups, including at Crieff Connexions three days each week.
“He was one of those lads that if you asked him to do something he would do it straight away,” Isabel said.
“His heart was in Crieff, he helped the people of Crieff and the volunteers in different groups.
“He was a friend to every group.”
Fought for others
Isabel particularly recalls one morning in spring 2020 when Harry asked if she was aware that Perth and Kinross Council had plans to remove the historic shelter in Mungall Park.
“I said no,” she says.
“And he said, as he would always say to anybody, ‘no, no and no way is that coming down’.
“‘That is not happening. I will put my right foot forward and take it from there’.
“Every morning Harry was at that shed checking it, making sure it didn’t go down. I take my hat off for what he did.
“He fought tooth and nail for months and, guess what, it didn’t come down. It’s actually been revamped.
“We still have the shed, it’s painted and beautiful but if the other people who wanted it down had their way it would have gone.
“Thank you very much, Harry, for saving our shed.”
Isabel added: “He was thinking that the cubs, the brownies, guides, scouts, mums with prams, always used that shed when it was raining.
“Harry was always thinking of someone else.”
High Street intervention
Isabel says that Harry did “bits and pieces in Crieff that no one will ever know”.
An example is a project that had begun in the High Street this year.
She added: “They put a big pole on the crossing. Wheelchairs couldn’t get through, mothers with prams couldn’t get through.
“Hey-ho, Harry got his right foot forward and got it sorted within weeks. He is a really good man.”
He knew Crieff’s ‘tiny details’
June interviewed Harry six months ago.
She will always be amazed at his extensive knowledge of the local community.
“Harry knew all of the tiny details of Crieff,” June said.
“He knew who everybody was, where they lived, who their cousins were, who their once-removed step-son was.
“In his lifetime, Crieff has become more than twice the size of what it was; it is full of new people, new housing.
“It feels like the end of an era of the oldies of Crieff.
“There is still a few worthies but not many. The people we used to see on the corners are all gone.
“Harry’s passing is the end of an era.”
No doom and gloom after cancer diagnosis
Harry was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix a year ago.
Typically, he didn’t make any fuss and carried out his roles as normal.
“He said ‘I’ll be fine’,” recalls Isabel.
“There was no doom and gloom.”
Instead, he made a modest bucket list that included a day out in Oban and a trip to Comrie Croft.
In July, The Courier reported on Harry achieving one of the goals on the list – a trip to the Knock of Crieff, which he was unable to hike to because of his condition.
Staff from Action Glen generously responded to a request from Harry’s friend Tina McRorie and took him to the summit of the hill in one of their Land Rover vehicles.
At the time, Harry was undertaking chemotherapy at Perth Royal Infirmary.
He said: “I suppose it is terminal because you will never be rid of it but they are slowing it down so they can keep an eye on it and the nurses in oncology are very good. They are very friendly.
“I am not going yet, like. No, no, no.”
Hundreds of tributes
Hundreds of well-wishers commented on various Facebook posts announcing Harry’s passing.
Tina, who works at Crieff Connexions, said: “He worked hard for the people of his town and was well-respected.
“Harry was a loved and valued by both myself on a personal level and as a valued member of the team at Crieff Connexions.
“Harry fought his Illness with courage and was determined to beat it so he could keep everybody in order for another term at the community council.
“He worked hard for his town and took pride in helping his community.
“Sleep well Harry, we are all proud of you.”
Funeral details
Harry is survived by children Michael, Brian and Elizabeth.
A funeral service, to which all family and friends are invited, takes place in St Columba’s Episcopal Church Crieff on Friday December 9 at 11am.
This will be followed by a committal service in Perth Crematorium at 12.30pm.
The family says donations may be given at the service for a charity in Harry’s memory.
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