Former Montrose businesswoman, church member and singer Irene Wood has died aged 94.
In the 1970s she opened a fruit and vegetable shop at 72 High Street, which together with five staff, she ran for seven years.
Irene had been known to earlier generations of Montrosians as a familiar face behind the counter at Dunnett jewellers, also in High Street.
She was married to former councillor Terry Wood, and a staunch supporter of Montrose Old Kirk where she sang in the choir, taught in the Sunday School and served on the church board.
Early years
Irene was born at 34 India Lane, Montrose, in October 1928 the daughter of James Pert Duncan and his wife Betsy Douglas.
She attended North Links School and was always in the top three in her class.
At the age of 12 years old she passed her bursary exam for at Montrose Academy, where she continued to shine academically.
After study at Dundee University, Irene took up a post managing the shoe department at the Cooperative department store.
Marriage
She met her future husband, Terry, at the Locarno ballroom in the town and married in 1953 in Birmingham where Terry was working. They went on to have two of a family; Graham, and Lesley.
After a period living back in Montrose the couple moved to Caithness when Terry was working on the Dounreay power station before they spent three years in Shetland while Terry worked on major infrastructure projects being carried out by R Pert and Son, Montrose.
Between 1967 and 1972, Terry was in charge of plumbing installations as Ninewells Hospital in Dundee was being built.
When that contract expired, the family moved from their home in Dundee back to Montrose where the couple bought a number of houses at Little Nursery and modernised them.
It was also at this time that Irene ventured into business on her own account.
In the late 1970s, Irene and Terry moved to a distinctive property in St Mary’s Road where they lived for 47 years.
In her leisure time, Irene loved dancing, yoga and tennis and was an exceptional singer. She wrote poetry and enjoyed travelling across Europe, North America and around the UK.
Terry explained: “She wrote the poem, He Is The One, which was inspired by her going up to the sun porch at night to watch the seasons as they changed. Most of Irene poems had a religious theme. She wrote for enjoyment but He is The One was published in a book, and in The Steeple, the magazine of the Old and St Andrews Church, Montrose, whose minister is Rev Dr Ian McLean.”
Irene, who had a wide circle of friends is survived by Terry, son Graham, daughter Lesley and there three grandchildren Jonathan, Robbie and Charlotte.
You can read the family’s announcement here.