Heartbroken staff at Aberdeen Cyrenians have paid a moving tribute to their “dearest colleague” Kevin Thorburn.
The 39-year-old, who worked as a support practitioner for the charity, died on Tuesday.
A number of people have shared touching messages and memories of Kevin and his alter-ego Miss Cherry Bakewell in the days since.
His colleagues have now described him as a “shining light” within the Aberdeen Cyrenians family and say he will be deeply missed by everyone.
In a post shared online, they said: “Kevin was naturally joyful and compassionate with an eternally positive outlook on life.
“Seeing each service user as an individual person, Kevin had a natural intuition for understanding people and supporting them to understand themselves.
“Fiercely advocating on their behalf, he questioned processes in the best interests of people, and showed our services users that they had someone on their side. This is something many had not felt for a long time.
“Kevin had a loving firmness and an ability to empower service users without them knowing.
“He engaged in activities and then eased himself away, having instilled confidence, working with them to grow and become involved in their communities at a pace comfortable for them.
“Setting their own agenda, and enabling them to reach their desired outcome, Kevin provided nothing but encouragement along the way.”
Kevin and Cherry fundraise for Aberdeen Cyrenians
As well as working with Aberdeen Cyrenians, Kevin was well known in the city for his performing in the amateur theatre scene and as drag queen Miss Cherry Bakewell.
Under both names, he “tirelessly” fundraised for the charity and reached the final of the Celebrate Aberdeen Awards in 2022 as “Staff Member of the Year”.
One of his fundraising ventures involved shaving his head at the start of lockdown to support those in need.
Aberdeen Cyrenians added: “Kevin always volunteered his time to work around the needs of our service users, ensuring they could attend activities outside of standard support times. He worked tirelessly to make sure that no-one was left without support.
“Kevin truly embodied everything Aberdeen Cyrenians stands for. He was a shining light within our Aberdeen Cyrenians family and touched the hearts of everyone he came into contact with, he will be deeply missed by everyone.”
Kevin was ‘loved by everyone’
Hundreds of tributes have also been shared by Kevin’s friends and those who knew him best as Miss Cherry Bakewell.
His good friend Cheryl Burt told The Press and Journal he was “loved by everyone who crossed paths with him.”
She added: “He was such a nice, kind-hearted person. Truly a beautiful soul who would do anything for anyone.”
His beloved drag persona was a firm favourite at many Aberdeen venues and also captured the hearts of the nation after a cameo appearance on a 2008 episode of Come Dine With Me.
On the programme, Miss Cherry Bakewell serenaded north-east business owner Bob Calder who described him as a “big star”.
He added: “I met Kevin in and out of drag and he was always an extremely nice person.
“When we were filming, I didn’t know Miss Cherry Bakewell was coming. The director just told me to go answer the door and he completely stole the show.
“It still airs three of four times a year because of Cherry. They could see how full of life he was and that is how he will be remembered forever.”
