Lady Mary Dunn; born April 11, 1909, died February 7, 1999

LADY Mary Dunn, who has died in her 90th year after a life dedicated to helping others, was born Mary Graham, the eldest daughter of the Sixth Duke and Duchess of Montrose.

Her earliest years were spent with her brothers, Lord Angus and Lord Ronald, and her sister, the Lady Jean Fforde, at Brodick Castle on the Isle of Arran, where her mother, Lady Mary Hamilton, had been brought up; and at Buchanan Castle near Loch Lomond, her father's ancestral seat.

She married on April 21, 1931, Major John Boscawen, MBE, who served in the Grenadier Guards during the Second World War and was a stockbroker in London.

They had two sons, the late James and Simon.

Lady Mary worked for the Red Cross during the war and drove ambulances through the Blitz. She was also well known for her cheerful presence behind the counter in the Naafi, following her husband's battalion around the United Kingdom while their children were cared for on Arran.

After the war, she and her husband lived in West Clandon, Surrey, where she very much enjoyed her voluntary work at the Royal Hospital for the Blind in Leatherhead.

She was also a keen gardener and had a great love and knowledge of the countryside, in particular Arran where she knew the names of all the hills, glens, and corries.

Her husband enjoyed working in the gardens at Brodick Castle during their visits, and contributed to many of the exotic rhododendrons on the grounds today.

He died in October 1972, and in December 1975 she returned to Scotland to marry Brigadier Leslie Dunn, a Glasgow stockbroker who died in 1990.

She was a particularly talented fisherwoman and very keen golfer, still playing six months before she died, enjoyed tennis, and was an excellent shot.

In later years she lived in Ayr, where she helped the Save the Children Fund, Symington, and latterly Troon, within sight of her beloved hills of Arran.

Lady Mary had an indomitable character and a wonderful sense of humour that would keep her family and friends greatly entertained. She derived huge pleasure from her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A remarkable woman of energy, she took up painting after the deaths of her second husband and eldest son and became accomplished at it, spending many absorbing hours learning the art.

She was at one time Honourary Vice-President of the Arran Farmers' Society, and was in the royal party when HRH the Princess Royal visited the 1986 show on Arran.

Lady Mary is survived by her sister, the Lady Jean, son Simon, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.