The Rev Deacon David Forsyth of Monifieth has died at the age of 72.
Born in 1940 in Bellshill, South Lanarkshire, Rev Deacon attended Holy Family Mossend primary and Our Lady’s High School, Motherwell, before attending Blairs in Aberdeen to study to become a priest.
However he decided the priesthood was not for him and moved to Bellshill to work in the civil service.
He met Eileen in 1968 while out hillwalking and the couple married in 1972.
They had three daughters, Rosalynd, Jocelyn and Mairi-Therese, and the family moved to Monifieth in 1979.
Rev Deacon Forsyth retired in 1993 and threw himself into church life, becoming a deacon in 1996.
He was a youth club leader, did charity work with St Vincent de Paul and in 1983 became a group leader in HCPT Pilgrimage Trust, taking children of all disabilities and denominations to Lourdes.
Mrs Forsyth said: ”He worked for the underprivileged all his life.”
Rev Deacon Forsyth lost both legs to diabetes but refused to let that hold him back, visiting the sick and elderly on his scooter to give communion.
He was most recently in Lourdes on July 12 and made the pilgrimage 40 times.
Father Kevin Golden, parish priest for St Bride’s, Monifieth, where Deacon Rev Forsyth served, said: ”He had a tireless devotion to the people in Monifieth.
”He really was very courageous and was a great servant to the area. It’s a huge loss to us.”
Rev Deacon Forsyth is survived by Eileen, his three daughters and five grandchildren.