Gary MacLean, one of the founding presenters of Moray Firth Radio, has died aged 64.
Dave Cochrane was first on air when the Inverness station went live in February 1982. Gary was the second and went on to become a household name across the north of Scotland.
Together with Tich McCooey, Gary hosted outside broadcasts, as well as presenting, throughout the 1980s.
After a spell working in radio in Bristol, Gary and his wife Linda returned to Inverness in the mid 1990s to bring up their children.
He returned to Moray Firth Radio as a trainer and occasional presenter before embarking on a career in the health service.
Gary MacLean was born in Inverness in 1956 and attended Central School then Inverness High School.
His first job was at Hector Russell kiltmakers, Huntly Street, before a move to a factory making curling stones.
His wife Linda said: “He had a number of jobs in his younger days. He trained as a chef but did not like it, he was a taxi driver and also a storeman with MacDiarmid at Ardersier.”
Throughout this time, Gary was running mobile discos across the Highlands and the North East.
On 1980, he met his future wife, Linda, at a disco at the Treetops above the Tarry Ile. They married in 1984 at Trinity Church, Inverness and went on to have two sons, Matthew and Jamie.
In the early 1980s, Gary was also broadcasting on hospital radio and this brought him into contact with the team that was applying for a licence to run a commercial radio station from Inverness.
Morning Call
He was a presenter of the station’s breakfast show but was perhaps best known for his work on The Morning Call, a phone-in where people could swap items or get advice from professionals.
Gary spent a lot of time, particularly in the summer, taking Moray Firth Radio’s roadshows to outdoor events such as agricultural shows.
Linda said: “When we returned to Inverness he started back as a trainer with the station and did occasional broadcasts.”
He then went on to work as a porter at Raigmore Hospital. He became the dedicated accident and emergency porter when the new department opened and progressed to become a nursing assistant. Gary took early retirement six years ago.
He is survived by Linda and sons Matthew and Jamie. A private funeral will take place next week.