TRIBUTE Paid Following Death Of Much-Loved Greenockian Ian McCrorieTRIBUTE has been paid following the death of Ian McCrorie who was much-loved and highly-regarded in many aspects of life in Inverclyde including education, music, Clyde ferries and steamers and the church.
Mr McCrorie, who taught chemistry and was assistant rector at Greenock Academy, was 78 years old and lived in Greenock all his life.
He was awarded the MBE for services to music and the community of Inverclyde in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2007.
Mr McCrorie was conductor of the acclaimed Toad Choir which went on to become the Scottish Philharmonic Singers and later the Scottish Festival Singers.
The Christmas concerts he organised attracted sell-out audiences in Greenock Town Hall and were held for 45 years.
Mr McCrorie was active in the Church of Scotland, was a church organist and was involved in the Scouting movement.
His lifelong love of Clyde steamers led to him becoming an authority on the subject, writing books and becoming official historian for Caledonian MacBrayne ferries.
CalMac Ferries released a statement saying: “Our thoughts are with the family of our dear friend Ian McCrorie who sadly passed away today. Ian will be greatly missed by us all here at CalMac.”
Stuart Wilson, who works for CalMac and was taught by Mr McCrorie, wrote on Twitter: “We’ve lost one of the loveliest men on the planet today. Teacher, mentor, friend. Heaven has a new conductor with a penchant for good grammar and Latin!”
Mr McCrorie shared his love of music with his wife Olive. They had two sons and a grandchild.
| A detailed article about Mr McCrorie’s life can be found at InverclydesHeritage.co.uk
