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Farmer and agricultural innovator Thomas Pate

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TOM PATE, retired Dundee farmer and former president of Dundee Rotary Club, has died peacefully at his home in Friockheim at the age of 91.

The eldest of three boys, he was born at the then family farm of Emmock, near Dundee.

He was educated at Morgan Academy in the city. His plans to study agriculture at Edinburgh were cut short by the outbreak of the Second World War. Before long he was farming Emmock on his own.

In 1947 he married Janet (Jen) Gibson, daughter of Dundee grain merchant John Gibson, and the couple had three children Ewan, John and Jennifer.

Years of farming innovation followed as mechanisation gathered pace in the post-war years.

Alongside his farming activities, he worked with the fledgling Fatstock Marketing Corporation, was organiser of the South Angus Rabbit Clearance Society and a president of Dundee branch of NFU Scotland.

He always supported the principles of agricultural cooperation, and these early activities were, by the 1970s, to develop into chairmanship of Tayside Growers Ltd, a pea harvesting group, and Tayside Potato Producers Ltd, a centralised potato grading and marketing organisation.

Since 1961 he had farmed and lived at South Powrie.

More innovation followed with the construction of new buildings and the design of numerous pieces of agricultural equipment to serve an increasingly diverse farming enterprise.

It was in 1973, during this period of great activity in Mr Pate’s business life, that the family suffered the tragic death of his son John in a motor accident.

In 1987 Mr and Mrs Pate retired from farming and moved to Friockheim.

Always an enthusiast for fellowship, he was a founder member and an early chairman of Dundee Round Table before joining Dundee Rotary as the only farming member.

He was president in 1987 and attended his last meeting of the club only a week before his death.

He was also a founder member of Friockheim Probus Club and remained a most enthusiastic attender over the years.

Mr Pate was also involved with the gardening and historical societies in the village.

His association with Strathmartine Parish Church in Dundee was a lifelong and deeply rooted one.

He was, in turn, a member of the Boys’ Brigade, an elder, a Sunday School superintendent and then session clerk.

His greatest sporting interest was golf and he was still playing regularly with a group of friends at Letham Grange as recently as two summers ago.

Mr Pate, who was pre-deceased by his wife in 2000, is survived by his son Ewan, daughter Jennifer, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A thanksgiving service will be held at Strathmartine Church on Friday at 2pm.