Fond farewell to 'selfless father figure' Adam
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TRIBUTES to one of Buckie's most sterling community servants have been paid following his sudden passing.
Adam Robertson was just two days short of his 70th birthday when he died at his Mill Crescent home. It was to bring the curtain down on a life spent modestly putting others first, most notably for over 30 years as a stalwart with both the RNLI, where he had been due to retire as a deputy launching authority (DLA), and with the Buckie and District Fishing Heritage Centre, of which he was secretary and a founder member.
At the lifeboat station a guard of honour was formed by the crew and other volunteers while members of the public turned out to show their appreciation for Mr Robertson's services to the community as his funeral procession made its way to Moray crematorium.
Further tributes were paid after the service by Portgordon Fireworks Committee with the firing of a 50-shot multi-coloured cake of rockets in memory of Mr Robertson, who had served as the group's health and safety advisor.
Prior to retirement Mr Robertson had spent his working life with local government building control, finishing off as a manager.
His son Alan's decision to join the lifeboat crew at the age of 17 was to provide the spur to become involved himself in the RNLI, his own father, who ran a painter's business based in Baron Street, having been part of the lifesaving apparatus team who often worked closely with the seaborne lifesavers.
Now a fleet staff coxswain with the RNLI, Alan Robertson said: "Dad started helping out on the fund-raising side when I joined the crew, he was the vice-chair and later the chair.
"It wasn't long before he was involved with the operations side of things and became a DLA, working closely with John Fowlie and then Joe Herd. He did a lot of admin work for the station, too, from paperwork to writing thank you letters to people who had donated to the RNLI.
"In fact, he was due to retire as a DLA on his 70th birthday.
"Dad wasn't a seagoing person, though, he'd no sea legs. He couldn't even swim and was quite happy making his contribution ashore."
Mr Robertson went on to fondly recall his dad's honesty and dedication as well as the other causes he served selflessly for decades.
"He would often help out the crew with their problems, especially if they involved planning issues.
"Dad was a very honest guy and the crew valued his advice, he was a listening ear and a father figure for many of them down the years.
"Whenever we had a new crew member come on board he would always go out of his way to make them feel welcome and part of the crew.
"He was very modest, though – he'd do all the organisation for something but not take the credit.
"The heritage centre was a long time passion of his; in fact, he was at least as passionate about that as he was the RNLI, if not more so. He did an awful lot of work for them over the years and loved it.
"He was also an elder with the North Church, where he was a volunteer driver for the church minibus, and he helped deliver the Rotary Christmas Post, although he wasn't a Rotary member. The Portgordon Fireworks Committee was another group he helped out."
In previous years, Mr Robertson served as an officer with the Boys' Brigade in Portessie.
His widow Elaine spoke of a man who had time for everyone and of their shared love of the music of rock group Queen.
"Adam would always help someone of they needed it, he wouldn't say no," she said.
"He was a quiet, family man who disliked fuss of any sort.
"We both loved Queen and every September we went out to Lake Geneva and met up with other members of the Queen family to commemorate Freddie Mercury's birthday at his statue. Over the years we met so many members of the Queen family – from the USA, Australia and Japan among them – and there was never any language barrier. Adam being Adam, he spoke to everybody.
"Adam was also one of the longest surviving kidney transplant patients in the UK. He had his transplant in 1978 in Aberdeen after he had appendicitis in his early twenties. It burst and the poison affected his kidneys.
"He was on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life which had their own side effects. However, Adam was just so grateful for getting a new lease of life and the chance to see the kids grow up."
Former work colleague and fishing heritage centre founder member Ron Stewart recalled how the duo hatched fledgling plans for what has become a well-respected tourist attraction in Moray.
"Adam and I worked in Moray Council's Buckie office. In 1986 we put our heads together and, along with six or eight other folk, said 'Why don't we start up a heritage place?'.
"We planned it out together and then held a meeting in my house where 10 people in all turned up and we each put in a tenner to get it all started.
"Adam was our first secretary before he had to step down due to work commitments but he always said once he retired he was determined to come back to the role.
"He had a great passion of it and he enjoyed doing it – he said it kept him going. He was very dedicated and he'll be a huge miss."
With Mr Robertson's passing, Mr Stewart is now the only locally-based surviving founding member of the centre.
Portgordon Fireworks Committee chairman Kenny Gunn added his voice to the tributes on behalf of the group.
He said: "Adam Robertson was one of a kind and if the world had more people like him it would be a lovely place to be in.
"Rest in peace, Adam – you will be deeply missed by the community. Our thoughts are with Elaine and the family at this sad time."
Mr Robertson is survived by Elaine, son Alan, daughters Lesley, Judith and Rachel, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The family hope to hold a celebration of his life once the current Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
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