Hugh Wallace
Director of Arnold Clark Born: July 3, 1948; Died: May 19, 2015. HUGH Wallace, who died aged 66 in Santiago de Compostela having just completed a charity walk, was the highly respected and affable managing director of Arnold Clark Finance and a director of Arnold Clark Automobiles since 1978.
His father – also called Hugh – was a doctor in the public health sector and his mother, Cecilia McGill, was a school teacher. The family home was in Bearsden where Hugh spent his childhood. Sadly his father died while he was in secondary school and Cecilia was left to raise Hugh and his older sister, Philomena, on her own.
He attended St Aloysius’ College and went on to Glasgow University to study medicine. At school he was a keen sportsman, playing for the 1st XV rugby team, where he was a doughty scrum half and occasional wing forward. Summer holidays were spent on the golf course at Hilton Park, where he developed his lifelong interest in the game.
While still at university, he had a parttime job with Arnold Clark which gave him a taste for business and it was no surprise when he accepted an offer to join the company on a permanent basis. He was born to the role of businessman: astute, articulate, industrious and sociable. He was at ease in any company – the caddy on the golf course, the petrol pump attendant or the MD of a multi-national.
He had a way of connecting with people, which seemed effortless. He was to spend more than 40 years with the company as one of the key men presiding over the expanding automobile empire.
He married Patricia Harkins in 1979 and their family grew over the years with the arrivals of Christopher, Monica, Andrew, Jonathan and Camille. Due to his son Christopher’s disability, he became involved in the Mainstay Trust, where he became a trustee and board member; the trust is a Glasgow-based charity offering a range of support services to people with a learning or physical disability. He was also a trustee of the St Aloysius’ Charitable Trust.
His generosity knew no bounds. He was especially generous with his time and if he could do anyone a favour he would inevitably deliver the goods. The old adage “if you want something done, give it to a busy man” was never truer than when applied to him. Even before he left for Spain, he had arranged the funeral of an elderly lady, a friend of the family, to take place immediately on his return. Hugh and Patricia had looked after all her needs for the best part of 15 years, arranging round-the-clock carers and attending to her affairs so that she could continue to live in her home. Mr Wallace never made the funeral but it was typical of the man that his arrange- ments prepared in advance were followed to the letter.
He had a wide circle of friends and business associates who became friends. He had a zest for life which affected everyone around him, whether it was on the golf course on one of his trips abroad or with his old school pals on their annual “Doublet” outing. He wore his business success lightly and because of his interest in people he had a fund of stories to regale and entertain them with. He would always have a new (or old) joke to pass on, culminating in loud laughter – which was infectious.
The annual walk, or Camino, to Santiago which he had made for the last seven years, was another of his interests. He was a revelation on these occasions, invariably leading the way on the 70-mile walk. The weather in Galicia, which can be as unpredictable as the west of Scotland, was kind this year and the route from the south along the Via de la Plata was perhaps the most scenic of all the routes into Santiago. It was idyllic and he was in fine form with no hint of any health issues.
At the conclusion of the Camino and after a day relaxing in the old City of Santiago where he was in sparkling form, he retired full of good humour and contentment, ready to fly home the next day.
When he did not appear for breakfast the following morning his friends went looking for him and found him lying peacefully on his bed. His journey had ended. A message received from the hotel owner in Santiago perhaps sums up the effect he had on even relative strangers: “I know beautiful words are commonplace when people die but your friend Hugh radiated goodness and friendliness. I am sure he died happy and peacefully. He will always be with us. Amigos para siempre!”