Caroline Elizabeth Hill, a former teacher and charity worker who, with her husband, realised the dream of transforming an Angus quarry into an educational nature reserve, has died at her home near Forfar, aged 72.
Born in Arbroath to Lieutenant Commander Peter Conran-Smith and his wife Mhairi in 1937, she was a pupil of Frensham Heights School in Surrey before studying domestic science in Aberdeen, where she qualified as a teacher.
She taught in Germany and England until 1961, when she married Michael Hill, a director of Don Brothers Buist (now Don and Low) in Forfar.
The couple spent all their married life in Angus, where they raised their four children Nicola, Emma, Peter and Sophie.
Mrs Hill did not return to teaching as her family became a priority but was involved in a number of charities, for which she worked tirelessly.
She was a founder member of the Angus branch of Save the Children Fund (SCF) in 1964 and later became chairwoman of its Scottish council.
She also sat on the board of Harmony House School, Edinburgh, from 1978 to 1981 and was a member of the SCF overseas committee in London from 1981-1996, travelling across the world to visit the organisation’s projects.
As a governess of Gordonstoun School and chairwoman of the board of governors at Aberlour House School, Mrs Hill was also actively involved in the Round Square Conference.
The international organisation of schools is a worldwide association of more than 60 schools that promotes the philosophy and teachings of Kurt Hahn, who founded Gordonstoun.
An important aspect of the Round Square’s work is to enable students to travel between schools in many diverse cultural settings.
Mrs Hill was part of the Salvation Army as a council member of the Dundee Advisory Board and for some time was chairwoman of its fund-raising committee.
It was in the last decade, however, that she and her husband were able to fulfil a long-held ambition to create an environmental haven from a former sand and gravel quarry near their home.
The Murton Wildlife Reserve was established in 2001 and opened to the public in 2006.
It has one of the largest man-made sandmartin habitats in the country, something of which Mrs Hill was especially proud.
Ever the teacher, she was also a driving force in making the reserve an important resource for educating young people.
Over 100 Angus youngsters, many of whom who had lost interest with mainstream education, have benefited from learning rural skills under the tutelage of the staff at the reserve.
She was proud to see many young people leave with a sense of worth in what they had achieved there.
A plantswoman of knowledge and skill, she also created a beautiful garden at her home and after a battle fought with dignity against ovarian cancer, she fulfilled her wish of spending her last days there.
Mrs Hill is survived by her husband, children and six devoted grandchildren, and her funeral will be held on Friday in St John’s Church, Forfar, at 2pm.