The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Champion for both children and families, Alison Irvine Gilruth
Alison Irvine Gilruth, former head of children’s services with Perth and Kinross Council, has died aged 70.
She was born in Wokingham in May 1952, the second child of Peter and Betty Spurring.
There were two years separating her from her older brother, David, and three from her younger brother, Andrew.
Her father, a gentle, unlikely soldier, rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
His postings took the family to a number of different homes near and far, including Hong Kong and Singapore.
Alison had happy memories of both, but to provide her with consistent schooling, she was educated from the age of 12 at Howell’s School in North Wales.
Her frequent changes of address and school as a young child directly influenced her determination to provide her own children with a settled, family home when they moved to Dunkeld in 1984.
On leaving her boarding school, Alison chose a different path from many of her school friends, opting for social work as her career.
It was on her social work course that she met Frank, her husband-to-be, and through this relationship she came to work, first, as a hospital social worker at Perth Royal Infirmary, and then as a training officer with Tayside Regional Council.
On the creation of the new unitary councils in 1996, Alison took on the role of policy adviser for child protection in Perth and Kinross, before being appointed service manager for child protection and children with disabilities in 1999.
In this role she won both the affection and the loyalty of colleagues in the council and beyond. She was strong for children, she listened, she was approachable and she was fair.
Through all these qualities she helped her staff to improve services for children and their families across Perth and Kinross. She made a difference to many children’s lives.
Appointed head of children and families in 2012, Alison brought all these gifts to bear in supporting the development of one of the strongest child protection services in Scotland, where children’s rights were paramount and workers strove to act in their best interests.
During this period, Alison chaired the domestic violence forum and then the Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre following her retirement in 2014.
Alison was a well-loved and active member of the Dunkeld community for many years.
Sadly, she lost her younger brother, Andrew, and her mother, Betty, in 2019 and 2020 respectively, but in May of this year Alison celebrated her 70th birthday with many family and friends in her lovingly tended garden.
She was a remarkable mother, grandmother, partner, and friend to many in her community.
She will be greatly missed. Alison is survived by her brother David; her loving children James, Lucy and Clare; her grandchildren Dorran and Duna; and her devoted partner John, with whom she was formally united in Perth Royal Infirmary very shortly before her death.