Former Arbroath High School domestic science teacher Isabella Beveridge has died aged 95.
She taught in the old building in Keptie Road then transferred to the new building when it opened in 1985.
Miss Beveridge was pictured with Princess Anne when she opened the then £5 million complex on November 5 1985.
Isabella, known as Ella, was also a highly-skilled craft worker who made jewellery to raise money for cats and dogs charities.
She was born on December 13 1928 in Howe Street Edinburgh to John Beveridge, a clerk in the city, and his wife Mary Roger, who came from Thornton in Fife.
School days
Ella was educated at Freuchie Primary School and Bell Baxter High School, Cupar, and when she finished school, worked as a seamstress.
Andrew Beveridge, her half-brother, said: “Ella used her sewing skills to make clothes for herself, her mother as well as other relatives and friends.
“She then returned to her education, attending college in Dundee. On completion of her teacher training she became teacher at a primary school in Cupar.
“After a spell at teaching, it was back to her own education again, this time at Aberdeen, where she qualified as a domestic science teacher.”
Ella’s first and only secondary school posting was at Arbroath High School which she took up after qualification. She eventually rose to become head of department.
Hospitality
Together with her mother, Mary (Mae), she moved from Cupar to Arbroath where the pair also ran a bed-and-breakfast in Rossie Street.
When Mae died in 1986, Ella moved to a bungalow in Rose Street, Arbroath, where she remained.
Andrew said: “She was very skilled with her hands and interested in most crafts, migrating from lovely needlework to beautiful jewellery.
“Her workshop in Rose Street was in her greenhouse. The jewellery she made there was mostly sold and the proceeds donated to local charities which supported her other two great loves, cats and dogs.
Motoring
“Ella also had a great passion for driving and very early in her career she passed her test and bought her first wee car. Many a happy time was had driving her mum round Angus, Tayside and Aberdeenshire and occasionally further afield.”
At the 1985 royal opening, Ella was pictured with Princess Anne and school rector, John Whyte.
The princess spent 12 hours in the town, also opening the refurbished railway station and visiting Francis Webster textile works, and John M Henderson engineering.
You can read the family’s announcement here.
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