An Aberdeenshire dad has lost his four-year battle with cancer.
Alec Main had surgery and gruelling radiation therapy after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in June 2010.
The father-of-three, from Ellon, died on May 17 – five days before his 45th birthday.
Yesterday his oldest son, Steven, described him as a “caring and lovely” person while his mother, Margaret, said he was an “inspiration”.
Steven said his father, who was cared for at Auchtercrag Care Home in Ellon, never complained, showing his “positive mentality to beating his illness”.
The 23-year-old said: “He was a very caring and lovely person.
“He was very popular outside the nursing home – he spent all of his life in the Ellon area.”
The keen fisherman, who was also dad to Craig, 16, and Jodie-Leigh, 12, grew up in Tarves and after leaving Ellon Academy became a gamekeeper before moving on to farming. He then went to work for butcher John Bain in Tarves.
He had an operation to remove the tumour after he was first diagnosed in 2010, but another one appeared and he was kept in hospital for a month while doctors decided how best to treat him.
His condition rapidly deteriorated and he was transferred to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield for stereotactic radiosurgery – a form of radiation therapy that focuses high-power energy on a small area of the body.
Mr Main’s eyesight started to fail and he lost all movement on the left side of his body as the disease took hold.
His mother, Margaret, said it had been “heartbreaking” to watch his “inspirational” fight.
She said: “The children knew he was getting worse which was hard to take.
“He couldn’t do anything for himself but continued to remain determined that he would beat the cancer.
“Alec could barely speak for the last few days which was devastating for the family.”
Mr Main’s family are now planning to hold an event later this summer to celebrate his life.