Former Cowdenbeath citizen of the year George Bird has died while on holiday in Spain.
He became ill during the trip and died on Saturday, some weeks after being admitted to hospital.
A former Cowdenbeath Horticultural Society chairman, Mr Bird was also an ex-councillor and involved in setting up a community safety panel in the area.
Mr Bird was a mining official with the Peewit pit and then the Seafield Colliery. He was heavily involved in the mines rescue team for many years.
His lifelong friend, former Fife provost Tom Dair, paid tribute to Mr Bird, who was named citizen of the year four years ago.
“He was a once-in-a-generation community activist and motivated others to do things.
“He was a tremendous motivator who would not ask people to do things he could not do himself.
“He was known nationally for his ability with flowers and he led the Cowdenbeath Horticultural Society as chairman for many years.
“He forged them into one of the best societies with a flower show in the country.
“In developing the flower shows he distributed plants to local primary schools and encouraged the pupils to grow them on and enter them in the show. This proved very successful.”
Mr Bird was also instrumental in establishing the local community safety panel, bringing the safety message to young and old, working closely with the protective services in Fife.
He served as a regional councillor for the Labour party for much of the 1990s.
Mr Bird is survived by his wife Jessie.
The couple were married for more than 55 years.
He had three children, George, Brenda and Colin, and six grandchildren.