A double funeral will take place today for an elderly Western Isles couple found dead outdoors in freezing conditions.
Donald Macmillan, 73, and his wife Morag will be laid to rest a week after their bodies were discovered lying outside their home in the small village of Gravir in Pairc on the east coast of Lewis.
It is thought the couple perished yards from each other as temperatures plummeted overnight.
Police received a report of a casualty from a local who spotted one of the pair after daybreak, around 8am last Friday.
Officers who headed over from Stornoway were shocked to discover two bodies in the garden yards away from the single track road running through the village.
Mr Macmillan, who grew up in the village, was the local postmaster for the past 50 years and was planning to retire within weeks.
The Gravir post office run out of his home is the last in the wider Pairc district.
For nearly 100 years it has been run by the Macmillan family.
Morag, 67, better known as Maureen, hailed from Harris.
She previously worked in the district primary school round the corner from her home and was also a carer for a neighbour.
The couple had no children and devoted much of their time to helping good causes in the local community.
Both were regular churchgoers at the nearby Gravir Free Church.
They will be buried in the adjoining cemetery following a short service starting at 12.30pm in the church. A wake service was held in the village last night .
Rev Malcolm Macdonald – who will lead today’s funeral service – said the incident has shocked the whole community.
He said: “People are very saddened and it is very difficult for relatives and neighbours.
“They were very quiet people and very well liked – easy to get on with and involved in the community in various ways.”
Two simultaneous deaths are a shock and the way the couple perished “makes it worse.”
Local councillor Philip McLean said: “One week on, the community is still in shock.
“They were a lovely couple and went everywhere together. It is so sad, so tragic.”
A large turnout of mourners is anticipated for the funeral.
Police confirmed there are no suspicious circumstances involved in the incident.