Moving tributes paid as Caithness musician laid to rest

MOURNERS packed the Ormlie Rest Rooms in Thurso this morning to celebrate the life of Caithness musician John Sutherland.

Tributes were paid to him throughout the service when family and friends recalled his life, his music, his humour, his love of his family and his spirituality.

His daughter, Christina, read a heartfelt poem while his son, Isaac, spoke movingly about his father and said he "had a great life and left his mark".

Isaac described his dad as "a passionate man" who had "time for everybody".

The Rev Caroline Lockerbie, from Edinburgh, a friend of the Sutherland family, described John as a "larger than life figure" who was devoted to his family.

John died in hospital in Aberdeen last Thursday at the age of 67 after suffering a heart attack.

After the service he was interred at Thurso cemetery.