Tributes paid to RNLI fundraiser
TRIBUTES have been paid to a key figure in fundraising for North Berwick’s RNLI branch.
Friends and fellow volunteer fundraisers said a fond farewell to Ann Macdonald earlier this month.
A cremation and service took place on March 7 at Mortonhall Crematorium, Pentland Chapel in Edinburgh.
Ann had lived in North Berwick for many years and was passionate about the RNLI as a tribute to her late husband.
Ann was born on March 8, 1934, in Bournemouth.
She was the only child of a fruit and vegetable retailer.
On her father’s death when she was 19, she took over running the business and this led her to travel the world for business and trade meetings.
Ann and her husband, Symington Macdonald, met in Bournemouth and, in the late 1980s, moved to North Berwick.
They were married in Edinburgh in 1991 and Sym, who was a naval architect, died in 1997.
In 1972, he had become the chief technical officer for the RNLI.
He had responsibility for the design, fitting out and maintenance of the RNLI’s operational and relief fleet at a time of change for the institution, when it moved its headquarters to Poole in Dorset.
Ann was so proud and loved to tell people how Sym oversaw the development of the 52-foot Arun lifeboat, the 50foot Thames fast afloat boat, and the early development of the RNLI Brede class.
He was also instrumental in the development of the rigid inflatable Atlantic 21 class.
After Sym’s death in 1997, Ann channelled her energy into fundraising for the RNLI, specifically in North Berwick.
She was inspired by the dedication of the volunteers across the organisation.
In her later years, she had to stand down from the fundraising committee and active fundraising but was watching with interest to see what the RNLI’s 200th anniversary this year would bring.