Keith Needham, who worked at Aden Country Park in Aberdeenshire for 40 years, has died at the age of 66.
He worked “tirelessly” with his Aberdeenshire Council landscape services colleagues before retiring in October 2020.
Keith, who was a well-known figure at the Mintlaw park, passed away peacefully on May 4.
Keith’s niece, Marie Breward, described him as a “gentle giant” and someone who will be greatly missed by the Mintlaw community.
He retired from Aden Country Park four years ago, after four decades of service, and spent his last days at Abbey Court in Mintlaw.
Family pays tribute to ‘gentle giant’ Keith
Marie said: “Keith and I are similar ages.
“My mum, Christine Tollerfield, is his oldest sister.
“We were brought up together until he ended up attending a boarding school in Yorkshire.
“We would still visit him a lot and loved going for days out here and there.”
When Keith left school at 16, his father retired, and the family moved up to Scotland, first staying near Banchory.
It was a few years later that they settled in Mintlaw.
Marie’s mother got Keith a place at Willowbank Training Centre.
Marie said: “He was autistic and had a lot of issues with learning when he was younger.
“At the same time, he had a near photographic memory.
“It was like a superpower!
“If you asked him anything about The Beatles, he would be able to tell you.
“Every single, every bit of trivia, every number one and how long it remained in the charts.”
His time at Willowbank proved the making of him.
And when one of the head gardeners at the training centre moved on to Aden Country Park, he asked if Keith could come with him.
He never looked back and stayed for 40 years until the worsening of his diabetes forced him to retire four years ago.
Keith was a credit to his community
Marie said: “Everyone knew him.
“He couldn’t walk by anyone in the park without stopping and saying hello.
“He’d always remember little details about a person, which I think they appreciated.
“Everyone looked out for him as well.”
Marie added: “To give you an idea of the type of man he was, I can tell you a story about one time my mum went to visit him.
“She said he wasn’t in, but when she parked up she spotted him walking down the main street, carrying two big bin bags.
“He had just decided to pick up all the rubbish on the way home – so he kept the village clean as well!”
Keith was popular at his local pub, and had two very handy skills for such a setting – quizzing and playing snooker.
Marie said: “He used to love going to the Garret Bar in Mintlaw with his friends.
“One of the men who was at his memorial told me that he taught him how to play snooker in there!
“He would go on to win loads of snooker competitions for the pub.
“Whenever the pub would do quizzes, everyone would be fighting over him for their team, given his memory.”
After his retirement, Keith got a place in Abbey Court where he would live out the rest of his days.
Keith will be sorely missed at Aden
Paying tribute on Aden Country Park‘s Facebook page, a post said: “Keith was a lovely man who was always cheery, even on the cold days.
“He loved to make time to welcome visitors to the park.
“Keith loved Aden, just about as much as he loved the band The Beatles, on which he had encyclopedic knowledge.
“He will be sorely missed and our heartfelt condolences go out to Keith’s family.”
A memorial coffee morning was held for him on Saturday at Abbey Court sheltered housing in Mintlaw.
Keith will be remembered by his favourite song, “Let It Be”, by The Beatles, which was released in 1970.
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