Sadly Missed We would appreciate it if obituaries for inclusion in the next issue were sent from Branch or Club Secretaries.
Edna Prior, Crawley
Marion Pearson, Sheffield
Edna Prior and her husband, Peter, were founder members of Crawley Scottish Country Dancing Club. In September 1959 an advert appeared in the local newspaper for anyone interested in Scottish dancing. 14 people turned up including Edna and Peter, who had been dancing since 1953 in Brighton. Edna held many roles from committee member, secretary, display organiser, chairman and teacher. Originally, ladies were not allowed to MC an evening and had to share it with their husband! Edna remained committed to the club and was still dancing until her late 80s, but stopped as she became increasingly frustrated that she couldn’t remember the dances.
Marion Pearson was an enthusiastic and extremely supportive member of Sheffield Branch from the 1980s. In 1990 she was the driving force in restarting the Sheffield Day School which she helped to run, eventually taking over the organisation of the whole day. She was also a very generous host to the numerous teachers and musicians who stayed with her. She regularly served on the Branch committee. Marion was also the Secretary of the Association of Scottish Country Dance Societies for many years. She supported many dances in the region and beyond. Marion was presented with a Branch Award for outstanding service in 2018, which she richly deserved. She will be remembered with affection and grateful thanks by her many friends all over the country.
Lee Pratt, Mid-Sussex
Lesley Shand, Fife Lesley Forbes Shand passed away in April after a long illness. She was a member of the Society for 40 years and a dancer for over 50 years, initially in Edinburgh and then in Fife. Lesley had grace, poise and elegance which were commented on by many who knew her. She qualified as a teacher and instigated and led one adult class and two children’s classes over the past 30 years, always striving to make Scottish country dancing accessible to all. Lesley will always be remembered for the joy she imparted to her dancing friends, both as a teacher and as a partner at local dances. Her family would like the Society to know how grateful they are that Lesley’s life was so enriched by her involvement with Scottish country dancing.
Norma Hutchinson, Sheffield Branch
Ann Prior Ann Daphne Fiona Prior, a life member of the RSCDS, was born in North Queensferry on 18 September 1928 and died on 26 May 2020. She gained her Teaching Certificate in 1952, judged by Miss Milligan and dancing with Derek Haynes. She was instrumental in the Nottingham Club becoming the first Branch of the RSCDS in the East Midlands and taught there for many years before moving to Bridport where she helped to found the Bridport Scottish Dancers in 1995. She was still teaching and dancing with us until December 2019 and will be sorely missed.
Lorna Sim, Kirkcaldy Branch
Caroline Morgan-Smith, Bridport Scottish Dancers
Marycke Visscher, Amsterdam
Kathy Warren, Nova Scotia
Trained in classical music, Marycke Visscher was a passionate and wayward fiddler, a warm personality and a strong protagonist of positive thinking. Besides being the regular musician for The Swilcan and The Hague Branch, she played for numerous events in The Netherlands and abroad, and attended many music workshops. She was on ‘The List’ to play for Summer School but somehow it never happened. She often played with the late pianist George McLennan. On one occasion she was surprised to hear him saying ‘you are jigging up your reel’. A few moments later he told her she was ‘jigging up her jig’, resulting in much laughter. When Marycke’s health declined and she struggled through the initial stages of dementia, she decided to arrange her end of life herself, to avoid ending up in a home – a decision made with much conviction. I will always remember her as one of the most enthusiastic musicians I have ever worked with, who taught me the finer points of playing for SCD and, especially, how to enjoy playing our great Scottish dance music.
Kathy was our shining light, a dauntless ambassador for Scottish country dancing and a driving force behind the Nova Scotia Branch. She served as Treasurer of the Branch for many years, sharing her valuable time and consummate organizational skills to ensure the success of virtually every local event. She started dancing as a schoolgirl in Aberdeen and brought her love of dance to Canada in 1993. A stalwart member of both the Bon Accord and Thistle groups, Kathy also enthusiastically supported many of the events hosted throughout the province, making new friends wherever she went. Her Doric recitations were a delight! She will forever be remembered for her warm, generous spirit, her strong work ethic, her ubiquitous peanut butter balls, and her love of all things Scottish. Kathy’s Fascinator is a lovely jig devised in her honour, with music by Muriel Johnstone. The Branch eagerly looks forward to being able to remember Kathy through dance – something she would have loved.
Edwin Werner, Delft Branch
Jean Lumsden, Adelaide
Lydia Hedge, Nova Scotia
Joe Murphy
Jean Lumsden died in May, aged 88. Having emigrated from Fife in 1969, she started dancing with the Branch during the 1970s. In the early 1980s she started a class at the Workers’ Educational Association in Adelaide to gain teaching experience, and ran these classes for several years. After Jean gained her Full Certificate, she tutored, having some part in the training of all the current Adelaide Branch teachers as well as having taught many of the current dancers in Adelaide as beginners. She continued teaching until early this year. Jean held various Branch offices over the years, and her contribution to SCD in Adelaide is one of the most significant in its history. Jean was active in all things Scottish in Adelaide, including the Burns Society, Scottish Radio, the Scottish Associations of SA, and worked tirelessly to promote Scottish culture and, in particular, country dancing. She received a Branch Award in 2016.
Joe Murphy was born in Spennymoor, County Durham, in 1934. As a teenager, hearing Jimmy Shand playing Scottish country dance music inspired him to join a local class, beginning a lifelong passion. He gained his teaching certificate from Jean Milligan so, when Joe and his wife Alice moved to the Carlisle area in the 1960’s, he was already an enthusiastic member of the RSCDS. Over the years he served the Carlisle and Border Branch in every committee post, taught classes and attended Executive Council and often ‘stooged’ for trainee teachers. Joe and Alice befriended dancers from across the world at Summer School and on world teaching tours; many of these friends attended Branch events. Joe’s first Summer School was 1968 and he attended annually until ill health prevented him. His last years were spent in a care home in Silloth on the Solway coast. He died in April aged 86.
Anna Grant-Henderson, Adelaide Branch
Jane Atkins, Carlisle and Border Branch
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