As Nancy McGill celebrated her 100th birthday she was honoured for charity work which she only recently gave up.
The Cupar woman began volunteering for a buddying and patient transport service in retirement and continued into her 90s.
She was 94 when she won an award for her work – which included buddying then 101-year-old Ethel McKay, who is now 107 and lives in a nearby care home.
So when she turned 100 representatives of Continuing Care (North East Fife) surprised her with a special visit.
And they weren’t the only special visitors – Nancy’s daughter-in-law Kate Andrews-McGill had flown all the way from Australia to be with her.
Amid the flurry of visitors, Nancy told us: “Goodness me, it’s been a very big day!”
Having had annual visits curtailed by the pandemic, Kate and husband Ian Andrews, who live in Sydney, were relieved to have made it for Nancy turning 100.
She said: “It was critical for us to get here for her birthday.
“We haven’t been able to get over for three years because of Covid, and we’ve been devastated that we couldn’t get here.
“We were concerned we wouldn’t be able to make it, but we did.”
Nancy was also delighted to be visited by John Kerr, of Continuing Care (North East Fife), as well as Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Fife, Colonel Jim Kinloch, and Cupar councillor Margaret Kennedy.
It was in retirement, after many years of working for Fife Council, that Nancy signed up as a volunteer for CCNEF.
Over three decades Nancy was a volunteer befriender and walked, drove or travelled by bus with clients to medical appointments, always “with a smile and her cheeky sense of humour”.
Originally from Gateshead, Nancy, born on July 24, 1922, married RAF serviceman Robert (Bob) McGill towards the end of the Second World War.
They had three children, Nancy, Andrew and Ian, and the family went on to stay in many different places such as Yemen, Pakistan, Shanghai and Singapore.
Bob was a keen golfer and this influenced the couple’s decision to settle in Cupar when he left the services.
Tragically, Bob passed away in the 1970s.
Later, Nancy was gifted a blue canary – who she called Tiger – and he became almost as well-known a character as Nancy herself in the local community.
Into her 90s Nancy also continued going to a fitness class she enjoyed at the local church hall.
She was 91 when she was advised to “slow down a bit”, having fallen and broken her wrist as she helped serve tea with the WRVS at North Eden Care Home.
Although teetotal for most of her years, it was suggested Nancy’s secret to long life could well be her penchant developed later in life for a glass of New Zealand white wine with dinner – well-matured of course!
But Kate said: “It’s keeping going basically. Mum’s done so much for so many other people over such a long time, she’s never had time to think of herself.”
Conversation