Papa was wee gem .. witty and so switched on, a sweetheart .. but part of him died when his Moira had to go into a home Granddaughter tells of heartbreak after scooter road tragedy
TRIBUTE TO LOVING GRANDFATHER
The heartbroken family of an 88-year-old grandad killed in a horror crash involving his mobility scooter have paid tribute to the “sweetheart”.
George Johnston was riding his scooter - which he had been using for a year due to mobility problems - in Paisley town centre when the fatal collision took place on Gauze Street, at its junction with Silk Street, at around 8pm on Monday, April 1.
Police and paramedics responded to the incident, which also involved a red Volkswagen Golf and a red Vauxhall Astra, and George was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where he died a short time later.
He leaves behind his darling wife Moira, 80, and daughters Lorna, Pamela and Aileen. George doted on his grandchildren Chris, Katie, Amy, Hazel and Fiona, and was also a great-grandad to threemonth-old Orlaith.
Grand-daughter Katie Ward moved back to Paisley two years ago to be closer to her grandparents. She says that her ‘papa’ struggled when Moira, who suffers from dementia, went into a care home around the same time and missed her incredibly.
George, who was blind in one eye, had been living independently but was “quite lonely” without his wife by his side.Katie, 39, told our sister title, Glasgow Live: “Everyone is a bit numb and we are absolutely devastated. He was an old man who shouldn’t have died in such a horrific accident, he should have passed in his sleep.
“It’s quite traumatic and he didn’t deserve to go out like that. We have no idea what happened and hopefully we get answers.
“He didn’t know how to process
Moira going into care and it broke him, a little bit of him died when it happened and he’s not been the same since.”
George was an avid St Mirren FC fan and, until around six years ago, was a season ticket holder.
Before retirement, he worked as a carpet designer at the now-closed A F Stoddard, in Elderslie – a career that saw him work on a carpet for Edinburgh Castle and even appear as an extra in a film.
In a heartfelt tribute to her grandad, Katie added: “He was very artistic when he was still at work. He was a keen designer and very successful at that.
“My mum (Lorna) would visit every single day and take him to see Moira. I’d see him at least once a week.
“He was a wee gem. He was so switched on and witty, he loved a good joke and was a sweetheart.
“Papa was a very generous man who helped us all, family meant a lot to him.
“I am going to miss his good sense of humour.
“We can take a little bit of comfort knowing that he is at peace now but it was still really horrible circumstances.”
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident 3252 of Monday, 1 April, 2024.