A Church of Scotland minister who became a stalwart of the international relief effort to poverty-stricken areas of eastern Europe has died, aged 76.
The Rev Andrew Howe, a native of Dundee and son of the manse, spent his 32-year ministry in the Highlands. He was ordained and inducted in 1957 to the parish of Farr, Sutherland, where he remained for 12 years. He moved to Rosskeen Parish Church, Alness, in 1969 and stayed there for 20 years until his retiral in 1989, a period which enhanced his reputation for service to the community.
During retirement, Mr Howe was dedicated to poverty relief in eastern Europe and made 27 trips to the Balkans, including its notoriously unstable areas.
He drove a van and trailer laden with food, clothing and other essentials to some of the Balkans' most deprived areas, regardless of the dangers to which he was exposed.
He also found time to serve as locum minister to congregations in Kyle, Kinlochbervie, Bonar Bridge and Berneray, in the Western Isles.
The Rev Roderick MacKinnon, former clerk to the presbytery of Ross, said Mr Howe's life was marked by service to others. ''He was a much-loved minister in Ross-shire and did a tremendous amount of community work while in Rosskeen,'' said Mr MacKinnon.
''He had a wider remit than purely preaching because he recognised the importance of community work. He was the mainstay of Alba Aid and went on trips to Eastern Europe until about two years ago. That must have taken a lot out of him, but he never complained. You'd never have known he'd taken early retirement all these years ago on grounds of ill health.''
The Rev Robert Jones, who succeeded Mr Howe at Rosskeen, said the trips inspired him to greater efforts on behalf of the poor. Said Mr Jones: ''Andrew got inspiration from the people he was helping. They had so little, yet they had so much to give and they were so grateful for what they received. They revitalised him.''
Mr Howe's work took him into contact with other aid organisations working in eastern Europe. Finlay MacKenzie, logistics controller with Blythswood, described him as ''a remarkable man''.
Said Mr MacKenzie: ''He used to come in to talk about logistics and we got on very well. He was an amazing spirit - nothing daunted him and he would go to places people half his age would not go.
''He'd say he was going somewhere and I'd remark that that was not the safest place, but he'd go. I think it was during a trip to Moldova that his camper can was broken into and the steering wheel stolen. I'd say he was in most of the eastern European countries during his later years.''
Mr Howe was predeceased by his wife, Dorothy. They raised a family of two daughters and a son.
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