Tributes have been paid to an influential community activist in the Western Isles who has died from cancer, aged 66.
Willie Macfarlane, from Melbost, was diagnosed with the condition in September last year – on the day he retired.
Despite undergoing rounds of gruelling treatment and a valiant battle with the condition, the father-of-two succumbed to the illness last month.
His daughter Carolyn Macdonald, 38, paid tribute to her “fantastic dad”.
She said: “My parents have been married for 40 years and they have been a huge support to me.
“He never complained throughout the whole of his treatment. He was diagnosed the day he retired; he had worked his whole life. Just a cruel blow but he never complained. He was an amazing man and father.”
Mr Macfarlane was born on October 23, 1952, and is from the Melbost/ Branahuie area.
At just 16, he signed up to the Merchant Navy setting sail for his first voyage aboard a ship in South Africa.
After developing an allergy onboard a chemicals-carrying vessel, the enthusiastic sailor was forced to return home; leading him to take to the open waters once again aboard local fishing boats.
Following a brief return to education; he sailed out to various offshore locations including Nigg, Harland, Kishorn, Belfast and Norway.
In 2000, his time at sea officially came to an end after suffering a severe heart attack.
For the duration of his illness, Mr Macfarlane – husband to Ann, father to Carolyn and Angus and grandfather to Ciaran – became a regular member of the Hebridean Men’s Cancer Support Group.
Throughout his life, Mr Macfarlane undertook a number of roles within the local community creating the local branch of the Merchant Navy Association and serving as the treasurer of the Sandwick Community Trust and the clerk of the Melbost and Mranahuie Grazings Committee.
Calum Macdonald from Point and Sandwick Trust said: “Willie is going to be a huge loss to his village and our community energy campaign, but most of all to his family. We will be thinking of them in the time to come.”
Mrs Macdonald paid tribute to her father’s dedication saying: “He always looked out for everyone else. He was involved in so many different things, the merchant Navy Association which he set up here and all the work he did for Melbost and Branahuie grazings. He was highly respected and loved by many.”
