Adam Wallace, a former factor of Fasque Estate, Fettercairn, and a Rotary office-bearer in Laurencekirk, has died aged 79.
He was also one of the organisers of the annual Fettercairn Show and a member of Aberdeenshire Local Outside Access Forum.
Adam was born in Lumsden where his parents, Archie, and Bunty (Stephen) originally of Oldmeldrum, ran a baker’s shop.
His father developed a flour allergy and so the family moved to Strichen in 1947 and Archie began work on the railways.
Education
Adam was educated at first at Strichen then Fraserburgh Academy where he stood out academically.
He went to Aberdeen University to study for a Higher National Diploma in agriculture.
When he qualified in 1962, he went to work on a demonstration farm at Udny which was trialling animal feeds.
Move south
This experience led to a job with British Oil and Cake Mills in Cathkin, Glasgow, and in the mid 1960s, he was transferred to Leatherhead in Surrey to work in the firm’s research unit.
It was during this period he met his future wife Frances (Wright) at a young farmers’ event.
Marriage
The couple married in Melton Mowbray in Frances’ home county of Leicestershire and went on to have two of a family; Shona in 1969 and Stephen in 1970.
Adam was later appointed dairy manager on the Marquis of Salisbury’s estate at Hatfield, Hertfordshire.
He spent 10 years there and gradually moved into general estate management.
Fasque
After a couple of years working in farm management in Leicestershire, a job arose on Sir William Gladstone’s estate at Fasque, near Fettercairn in 1983.
Sir William had been chief scout and was a descendant of former Prime Minister William Gladstone.
Qualifications
During his time living and working in the Mearns, Adam qualified as a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
When Fasque estate was being dismantled in around 2000, Adam and Frances moved to Brig o’ Turk, near Callander, and a new job with the Woodland Trust.
He had responsibility for livestock and also the creation and maintenance of footpaths and ensuring the health and safety of visitors.
Retiral
The couple had bought a house at Phesdo, near Fettercairn, in 2011 where they eventually retired.
Adam went on to serve as President, Secretary and Treasurer of Laurencekirk Rotary and was also a trustee of the Postcode Lottery, deciding on the merits of environmental applications.
He had been convener of Fettercairn Farmers’ Club which runs the Fettercairn Show and for eight years, served on the local access forum.