The former chairman of NHS Tayside and a past chief executive of both Tayside Regional and Angus Council has died.
Sandy Watson, 70, died at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on Friday following a short illness.
He only retired as chairman of the health board in May after 48 years of public service.
He was born and raised in Airdrie and attended Glasgow University then Jordanhill College of Education.
He taught classics at Morrison’s Academy in Crieff, before moving to the Isle of Skye as principal teacher of classics at Portree High School, then McLaren High School in Callander.
Mr Watson took up posts in the directorates of education at Central, Strathclyde and Tayside regions. He was director of education for Tayside Regional Council from 1990 to 1994.
A spell as chief executive of Tayside Regional Council was followed by a decade at the helm of Angus Council from 1995 to his retiral in 2005.
He then served as a non-executive member of Tayside NHS Board, before holding the chairmanship of the board from 2007 to May this year, when he retired.
Another of his enduring legacies is his long association with Young Scot and the Dialogue Youth Initiative.
Sandy also avidly believed in getting out there and meeting people in all of the organisations he worked for.
He was married to Jean for 44 years and the couple had three sons.
Depute Provost of Angus, Alex King, paid tribute to Mr Watson.
He said: “Sandy was our first chief executive, indeed he was Angus Council’s first employee back in 1995.
“We benefited greatly from his breadth of local government experience and his ambition for the council and the county. He was a true ambassador for Angus, both during his 10 years with us and latterly in his role as the chair of the NHS board.”
John Swinney MSP said: “A long-serving, outstanding public servant, Sandy made a tremendous mark on the lives of the people he served, as chief executive of Angus Council and of Tayside Region and as chair of NHS Tayside.
“His devotion to public service was the mark of the man.”
Mr Watson held his position with NHS Tayside for almost 10 years, both as a non-executivemember and chairman.
He was appointed an OBE in 2003 and was made deputy lieutenant of Angus in 2007.
He is survived by his three sons, Calum, David and Andrew.