Amy McMillan

Died: July 2, 2013

AMY McMILLAN, who has died aged 84, was a breath of fresh air, a positive force, a talented musician with a flair for organisation; and a tireless worker who delighted in applying these attributes throughout her life as a musician, teacher, mother and grandmother.

Born in Dennistoun, Glasgow, the first of three children, she grew up in East Kilbride and gained her love of music from her father, William Wood, who was a violinist and her mother Beatrice, who had a fine voice.

As a child playing in the street, Amy pressed her nose against the window of a house where she saw a piano and was invited in to play.

She had her first piano lesson at the age of five and thereafter played for the Sunday School. By 13, she was playing the church organ and as a teenager gave her first music lessons.

She was educated at Hamilton Academy and over her eight years there achieved a perfect attendance record - at one point cycling to school from East Kilbride when the buses were off, so as not to miss a day.

At school, Amy developed an ­interest in Gilbert and Sullivan, and was accompanist for all school rehearsals as well as taking principal parts in the annual productions. She attended the Glasgow Atheneum on leaving school and took a post-graduate training course at Jordanhill College qualifying, as a primary teacher.

She held several teaching posts in Lanarkshire schools, including the primaries at Rutherglen, Jackton and Chapelton where she worked until 1956.

In 1954 she met the other love of her life, Neil, at a summer school in St Andrew's. Neil, a courteous gentleman in the true sense of the word, was a perfect foil for Amy's vivacious character and her constant supporter and guide for the next 47 years.

Neil and Amy married in 1956 and moved to Fort Matilda, Greenock where Amy took up a post in Jean Street Primary School. The birth of their first daughter, Eleanor and later a second, Mhairi, made the family complete.

In the early 1950s Amy McMillan joined the committee of the Renfrewshire (now Inverclyde) Music Festival. She was to be a member of the festival committee for over 40 years and held various positions, including selector of music and honorary assistant secretary (music).

As with everything musical, she immersed herself in the task and in addition to the setting of pieces and assisting with the running of the festival, she tutored many choirs and pupils who entered and competed in the ­festival itself, enjoying not a little success.

By the early 1960s, following the birth of the girls, the family moved to Airdrie where Amy taught at Airdrie Academy and in 1967 she was appointed principal teacher of Music at St Columba's Greenock.

The family moved again, this time to Kilmacolm. She became involved in the life of St Columba's Church there forming several junior choirs which participated in the Renfrewshire Music Festival and where she produced and accompanied several musicals, including The Snow Queen, Oliver, Aladdin and The Wizard of Oz. She was a constantly enthusiastic and encouraging force bringing adults and children together.

On Neil's retirement in 1980, the family moved to Largs with Amy commuting to Camphill Senior Secondary School in Paisley where she became principal teacher of music on the retirement of the late Arthur Brown in 1983. In the previous year, 1982, she was honoured to be made a fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland. After retiring herself in 1988, she become involved in the Associated Board of Music; she was the stand in accompanist with the Largs Operatic Society; she conducted the Greenock Ladies Choir; was a member of a concert party Double Cream, and she taught privately, as well as devoting time to the St Margaret's Toddlers Group in Dalry and working with her daughters Eleanor, a veterinary surgeon, and Mhairi, herself a singer and music teacher.

Neil's death in 2001 was a time of great sadness for the family but Amy bore the loss with the stoicism and strength that exemplified her character throughout her life. Her ability to organise effortlessly, her sense of humour, positive approach and enduring optimism endeared her to all.

She is survived by her daughters Eleanor and Mhairi, her sons-in-law Willie and John, her five grandchildren - Stuart, Iain, Gillian, Allison and Neil, her brothers James, CA and David, a veterinary surgeon, and her extended family.