Tributes have been paid to a popular Arbroath Academy teacher, who died last week.
Sarah Gallacher had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, which was discovered following a series of seizures earlier in the year. She was just 57 years old when she died in Ninewells Hospital on September 24.
Sarah was born in Dennistoun, Glasgow and grew up in the Cranhill area of the city.
She moved to England for a time with her husband Del. The couple met in Glasgow in 1984 and married there on Christmas Eve 1985.
They returned to Scotland when Del took up a post at Dundee University and lived in Carnoustie, where they raised two children — Victoria and Vanessa.
When the girls grew up, Sarah retrained as a teacher and worked at several local primary schools, including Birkhill in Dundee.
She also taught at Carnoustie High as a transition teacher before moving to Arbroath Academy, where she taught biology for about seven years.
The school posted a message on social media, saying she would be “forever be in our hearts”.
Del said the family had been touched by the gesture and it demonstrated how highly people had thought of his wife as a teacher and a friend.
He said: “The tributes on social media have been really lovely.
“She was a very positive person. She made lots of friends and would make friends quite easily.
“Even whilst in hospital she managed to make a difference to the ladies who were lucky enough to share the bay with her.
“She was the life and soul of every party she went to and would always be the first on the dance floor.
“She was always up for a challenge.”
Victoria described her mother as being “full of life”.
She was a great lover of the outdoors and could often be seen walking the family’s two dogs Mylo and Fizz, as well as taking part in running events across the country.
She had also recently retrained as a Pilates instructor and found out she gained the relevant qualification during her first stay in hospital.
A celebratory service has been arranged for Friday at Parkgrove, in Friockheim. It will be private because of coronavirus restrictions. Mourners will all be wearing a touch of colour at the service to honour the colour that Sarah brought to everyone’s lives.
