Brewery owner Martin Procter, 68, died while delivering his beer to a hotel in Tarland.
His wife Gloria has praised those who rallied to try and save her husband, but she is now calling for more emergency support for cut-off communities.
Born in Balham, London on August 14, 1953, the dad-of-three was out delivering beer with his wife when his heart failed.
Delivering to rural villages
The couple ran Strathbraan Brewery alongside their son Mark, in Dunkeld.
The company, which they launched from an agricultural shed in their garden, has grown in popularity over recent years.
It has seen the couple – who were married for 47 years – wend their way through Scotland’s northern communities large and small.
On the day of Martin’s death last month the couple had left their home in Birnam, Dunkeld, to deliver stocks of their craft beer on what they called the ‘long route.’
The day he died
Gloria said: “We had left home at 10, gone to Dundee and up towards Marykirk, over the Cairn o’ Mount and into Tarland.
“Martin went to pick up the empties when he called me.”
Immediately she knew something was gravely wrong.
Calling for help, Bev Hughes, the owner of The Commercial Hotel in Tarland where the couple were visiting, sprung into action.
Administering CPR for half an hour and calling for other members of staff to get the village defibrillator, she did all she could until the ambulance arrived.
No First Responders
She said: “The ambulance staff were great, they talked us through everything on the phone until they got there.
“There are so many plusses to rural life in this part of Scotland, but one of the drawbacks is being so far away from help when it’s needed.”
On the day when Martin died the village’s part time First Responder service wasn’t active.
Bev added: “I’ve known Martin for a little while. He was a friendly man who was always really professional and easy to deal with.
“It’s been a great shock to all of us but reinforces the need for things like community defibrillators and trained people in outlying areas.
“We did our best but tragically it wasn’t enough.”
More people need to learn CPR
Richard Procter, Martin and Gloria’s son, is an emergency medical consultant.
He said: “We can’t thank everyone enough.
“The chance of survival is greatly increased with by-stander CPR and the use of a defibrillator, especially for rural communities.
“Only 70% of witnessed cardiac arrests have CPR started.”
The family were later told Martin, who was also dad to Alison and and grandfather to Lewis and Matthew, died due to cardio vascular degeneration.
Join your local team
Richard added: “If something positive can come from this it’s to encourage people to learn CPR and touch base with their own community first responder teams.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service explained the role Community First Responders play.
“They are volunteers drawn from local communities who form an important part of the Service’s response.”
They added that their work is clinically assured through appropriate training.
And that they complement the emergency ambulance response.
“As volunteers, they often have primary employment or other commitments and so they notify the Scottish Ambulance Service when they are available to respond.”
The Service added that it has a wide range of resources which can be deployed.
These can include ambulances, paramedic response units, air ambulances, advanced practitioners and co-responders.
They gave him every chance
In paying tribute to her husband, Gloria added her thanks to the Commercial Hotel staff.
“These are obviously terribly sad circumstances but I truly do not know what I would have done without them.
“They gave Martin the best possible chance.
“We had a wonderful life together; we did everything together. There’s no regrets, and nothing we wanted to do that we didn’t do.
“It’s just my hope now that communities like Tarland and even Dunkeld where we live, are properly resourced so help is there when it’s needed.”