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Lawrie On 7 May, William King Lawrie, MRPharmS, aged 82, of 21 Silverknowes
Gardens, Edinburgh EH4 5ND. Mr Lawrie registered in 1945. (Tribute)
Noble On 30 April, Clifford Hinson Noble, MRPharmS, aged 84, of Flat 2, The Grange,
10 Beech Grove, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG2 0ET. Mr Noble registered
in 1943.
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Tribute
Lawrie In a tribute
to the late William
King Lawrie, ARNOLD
MORTON writes:
It was with great sadness that I learnt of the death of
William K. Lawrie, late professional services manager to Lloyds Chemists
(formerly R. Gordon Drummond Ltd), known to everyone as “Bill”.
Bill was well known and well liked throughout the company and in view
of the large number of branches this involved, that meant the greater
part of southern
Scotland, South Wales and large parts of England. He was above all a Scot and
this is where his pharmaceutical career started, in Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh,
where he ran his own shop, before moving on to pharmacies in Haddington and then
joining Drummonds in Grangemouth.
Bill was always a pioneer and was always well ahead of the field — he saw
the advantage of things before everyone else and it is thanks to Bill that R.
Gordon Drummond brought computers into pharmacies — and how we rely on
them today! Bill has been described as a silver surfer but, of course, everyone
who knew Bill will know that he was a silver surfer long, long before the term
was even thought of.
In his spare time Bill remained committed to the community he served around him.
In the late 1960s he was chairman of the East Scotland branch of the Pharmaceutical
Society, where he upheld both the interests of the Society and the interests
of pharmacists. In addition, he was always, until very recently, to be found
at election time at the counts which took place at York Place, Edinburgh — again
this was Bill demonstrating his care and concern for the community and the people
he served by observing and upholding fair play and the rule of law at all times.
For many years, Bill was a highly respected church elder, where his warmth and
love for all shone through, yet one more demonstration of Bill’s servant-heart
and constant care for others.
During his service in the Royal Air Force, Bill was stationed at various sites
around Britain, but it was at RAF St Athan that he first saw Welsh rugby and
found his way around the valleys of South Wales. He was a life-long supporter
and long-time season ticket holder of Heart of Midlothian, one of the Edinburgh
football clubs, and of the Scottish rugby team. So between soccer and rugby he
was at home in deep and knowledgeable conversation with most people discussing
events on the sporting field.
I have lost a valued friend and colleague. I shall miss Bill’s many telephone
calls about the respective merits of the Welsh and Scottish rugby teams — not
all of them complimentary — all full of wisdom and, as ever with Bill,
full of his unique warmth and Scottish humour.
On his retirement, Bill, along with his wife Margaret, who died in 1997, remained
active in all his many interests, which, after his church and his extensive charitable
interests for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and the Brittle Bone Society,
were bowls, gardening, line dancing, ocean cruising and caravanning — not
exactly a sedentary lifestyle for a retired man.
At his funeral, Bill’s care and, above all, his concern for others was
a recurrent theme and the two repeated words that summed up Bill were “wise” and “gentleman”.
Bill was someone who at all times cared for those whose lives he touched, whether
it was a customer, a pharmacist, a friend, or of course, his church family and
his own family. He would devote his time to help everyone; he would listen attentively
and give his advice with love and with great care and concern. With Bill, you
always knew that he would be fully attentive and he would treat you in a fair
and gentlemanly way and with as much time as you needed, regardless of what else
he wanted to do. Professionally, everyone who met Bill always knew that they
had been treated wisely and, above all, fairly by a gentleman.
Bill was devoted to his children Wilma and Brian, his daughter-in-law, his grandsons
and their wives and also his two great-grandsons. They will all miss him greatly.
Our condolences, good wishes and prayers go out to them all in their loss. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal