Gordon was a truly ‘remarkable’ teacher
Tributes flood in for ex-Perth High tutor Gordon
Tributes have been paid to a beloved and “remarkable” former Perth teacher who passed away after a 14 month battle with cancer.
Gordon Thorburn (65), a popular chemistry teacher at Perth High School from 1976 until his retirement in 2012, was diagnosed with primary central nervous system lymphoma, a cancerous brain tumour, in April 2017.
This severely affected his health, particularly his speech and mobility.
Gordon passed away peacefully at Cornhill Macmillan Centre on Thursday, June 28 with his daughter Karen, wife Janice and son Ross at his bedside.
Daughter Karen (32) led the tributes to her late father and said he always fought with great courage and positivity and he never lost his witty sense of humour.
She said: “As you’ll have seen from the tributes on Facebook, my dad was a remarkable teacher.
“He had a way of making chemistry accessible and interesting to everyone and was a brilliant communicator, even managing to get the more challenging school pupils on his side.
“He won Perth High School’s ‘teacher of the year’ award (voted for by the pupils) on several occasions and the highlight of his career came in November 2010, when he received a national award from the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), the champion award which recognises teachers who succeed in supporting their pupils to reach their full potential.
“My dad loved his career but he also lived for his free time. One of his greatest passions in life was caravanning.
“My parents bought their first caravan in 1989 and we spent weekends and the school holidays touring around Scotland while my brother and I were growing up (which inspired me to live in the Highlands), and my parents continued caravanning right up until my dad’s illness began.
“We’re immensely proud of his legacy. All the lovely comments on Facebook show how highly regarded he was by his pupils and colleagues.
“Last but not least, we would like to thank all the staff at ward 34 (Ninewells), PRI and at Cornhill for their exceptional care.
“Selfless as ever, he donated his body to science and so he will continue to make a valuable contribution even after his death.”
A tribute was set up on Karen’s Facebook page with numerous former pupils paying homage to a man they all respected deeply.
Former pupil Claudia Cunningham said: “Your dad honestly inspired me to be the person I am today.
“He was my teacher Gordon (left) with his wife Janice, son Ross and daughter Karen throughout school at Perth High from 1991-96.
“His teaching got me the grades I needed for dental school, and I will forever be grateful. “I’m so sorry to hear this news.” Sarah Goodfellow said: “So very sorry to hear this. I was at Perth High School from 1990 to 1996 and Mr Thorburn was simply an amazing teacher and a lovely, lovely man.
“I was lucky enough to be taught chemistry by Mr Thorburn and because of this I went on to study the subject at university.
“Mr Thorburn’s chemistry classes are a stand out memory from my time at high school and I’ll never forget what an inspiration he was. Rest in peace.”