The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Co-Op chief John Anderson, 77
John McCa l lum Anderson , chief executive of Co-Operative in Angus, has died aged 77. Known to most as Ian, he was born in Stirling in 1943, the only child of Alexander and Isabella.
At a young age, the family moved to Alloa, where Ian attended school.
He also studied in the Eng l i sh town o f Loughborough.
From there he held his first positions with Co-Op at Carluke, where he met his wife, Jean Prior. The couple married in December 1967.
They moved to Preston pans, near Edinburgh, in 1968 after Ian got a position there, and stayed until 1973, when they came to Arbroath.
Ian was the financial controller for the entire east of Angus Co-Operative.
Although he was based in the offices in Church Street, Arbroath, he was a familiar face in branches throughout his patch.
He would go on to become chief executive of the group, a position he held until his retirement.
Ian had a passion for steam trains and was a keen member of the Angus Railway Group, which he joined in the 1970s and later chaired.
Both of his sons fondly remember the groups Ian would host at home, setting up a projector to show slides of various steam trains from years gone by.
Trips to York to visit the National Rail Museum were a must, as well as to his previous home of Loughborough with fellow steam train aficionados to visit the Great Central Railway, where they would often hold exhibitions.
Ian was predeceased by his wife Jean, who passed away in November 2015.
He is survived by sons Stuart and Douglas, as well as his four grandchildren, Erin, Callum, Anya and Aidan.