Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Wife’s tribute to Arbroath painter John Gillan who was killed during Storm Babet

Aberdeen-born John, a lifelong Dons fan, had been a painter and decorator for 40 years since leaving Arbroath High School.

John Gillan of Arbroath who died during Storm Babet.
John Gillan of Arbroath who died during Storm Babet.

The wife of Arbroath’s John Gillan, who died during Storm Babet, has spoken of her love for the tradesman who went above and beyond for his community and customers.

John, 56, died on Thursday October 19 near Forfar when his van was hit by a tree.

He was returning from a job at a farm when the tragedy happened.

Aberdeen-born John, a lifelong Dons fan, had been a painter and decorator for 40 years since leaving Arbroath High School.

For the past three decades he ran his own business, mainly doing work for private customers but also working with other trades on new-built projects.

Family man

Wife Gaynor – speaking ahead of John’s funeral at Parkgrove crematorium, Friockheim, at 11.30am on Monday November 6 – described her husband as a committed tradesman, a loving and loved husband, father and grandfather.

She said: “He would go out of his way if a customer phoned and even if he was busy he would find a way to fit them in.

“He was so committed to the communities in which he worked.

John Gillan with his grandchildren Reygan and Finley.

“I will miss him so much. The whole family will, our son Marc, his partner Natasha and grandchildren Reygan and Finley.

“He loved spending time with his grandchildren.”

Gaynor recalled the special moments they shared travelling the world.

She said: “The only time John took holidays was when we were going away, otherwise he was working, and we had some wonderful times together; city breaks in the likes of Budapest, New York and Prague with friends.

“His favourite destination was Lanzarote, which he called Lanzo. We managed to get away together two or three times a year.

“John also loved family get togethers and loved socialising with his close friends.”

John was only nine months old when his parents, Moira and John, moved from their native Aberdeen to Arbroath after his father began working with Scottish Enterprise in Dundee. He had a younger sister, Wendy.

He was educated at Muirfield Primary School, Arbroath, and then Arbroath High School where he took a great interest in music.

John left school aged 16 and began his four-year apprenticeship as a painter and decorator with the firm of Grant of Arbroath.

Marriage

It was at the Smokies nightclub in Arbroath in 1987 that he met Gaynor.

They went out for three years and married at St Vigeans Church in 1990. Their son, Marc, was born in 1995.

After his employer ceased business, John set up on his own, working in Arbroath and the wider Angus area.

John Gillan.

He was a past season ticket holder at Pittodrie, a follower of Manchester United and also a five-a-side football player in his younger years.

Gaynor said her husband was also an expert on music and loved all genres from the 1980s onwards.

At his funeral donations can made made to children’s charities which John supported.

You can read the family’s announcement here.

Conversation