George Cowie, who gave a lifetime of service to the community in Culter, has died aged 83.
He had a 72-year association with the 47th Aberdeen (Culter) Company Boys’ Brigade, where he served as captain and also tutored the company’s pipe band.
George was property convenor of Peterculter Parish Church, president of Culter Mills Bowling Club and DISC at Banchory, a community councillor and respected businessman.
From early years to service career
George was born in August 1938 to papermill worker Arthur Cowie and his wife Elizabeth (Anderson) and he was educated at Culter School.
When he left, George began a five-year joinery apprenticeship with Poddy Thain.
In 1959, just as National Service was ending, George was called up and undertook clerical work in Aden, a city in Yemen, before going on to serve in the intelligence office in Oman.
He was seconded to the Sultan of Oman’s army during the country’s civil war and at the end of his National Service was presented with a Rolex watch by the Sultan for his work.
Family
It was at Culter School, in primary seven, that George met his future wife, Tessa McKenzie.
They began courting when he was 15 and the couple married at St Peter’s Church in December 1961.
Their first home was a flat in Bucksburn where their first child, Lindsay was born on their second wedding anniversary.
Shortly after, the couple bought land at South Avenue, Cults, where George, with the help of friends, built a bungalow. Their daughter, Judith, was born in May 1966.
As a joiner, George rose to become a foreman with Charlie Moncur, then in 1969 he joined the local authority in Aberdeen to oversee council house repairs.
Business life
In 1971, together with two friends, George started Speedmill Services, a general building firm.
Around the same time, George also bought a shop unit on the main road in Culter and converted it into a successful dry cleaning business.
Over the years, Speedmill Services changed names and location and eventually became Drumoak Kitchens based at Drum Station Yard.
New direction
A bad hand injury forced George to sell the dry cleaning business in 1977 and, from 1995, he started working for himself.
He had become a member of the 47th Boys’ Brigade aged 11 where he received bagpipe tuition from Stuart Reid.
George moved through the ranks of the company and became captain in 1967 following the death of Murray Webster.
Due to family and work commitments, he handed over the captaincy to Doug Allan in 1970 but continued to give his time to the boys of the company by tutoring the pipe band, and helping them through many successes in marching band competitions.
He was chairman of the company’s centenary committee in 2009 and to mark the occasion a large rock was chosen and placed in the grounds of Peterculter Parish Church.
This symbolised the line “fastened to the rock that cannot move” from the BB hymn, Will Your Anchor Hold.
Green fingers
Gardening was a great passion for George, and substantial gardens were a feature of each home the family moved to.
George spent many an hour in his gardens and he was awarded the best all-year-round garden in the Culter Garden Competition in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
He will be sadly missed by Tessa, Lindsay, Judith and all his family and the numerous friends he made over the years.