Former Aberdeen Journals reporter and sub-editor, John Duncan, has died aged 87.
John Milne Duncan – known as Johnnie to his friends – was born on March 28, 1935 in Portsoy.
His dad – whose name he inherited – was an engineer at The Clyde who died young, and mum Sadie, helped out in Shore Inn, owned and managed by her parents-in-law.
John was one of four siblings but was always closest to his brother Tommy who went on to play for Buckie Thistle and Airdrieonians FC.
All of John’s schooling took place in Portsoy but it was at college in Elgin where he learned the skills of his future trade – journalism.
News man
With shorthand and typing under his belt, he was ready for the world of work but the National Service came calling. Based in Hednesford and Reading with the RAF his new-found journalism knowledge came in handy working as a writer and typist during conscription.
After two years John returned home to the north-east where he gained his first paid job as a reporter with the “Banffy”. His occasional coverage of Highland League matches and his general reporting for the Banffshire Journal caught the eye of a former employee of The Press and Journal.
After the suggestion was made to make him an offer, John took his time and talent to the Aberdeen Journals where he spent the rest of his 50-year career.
Family life
However, it was at a dance in Cullen that the course of the rest of his life was altered.
For there he met Frances Grant, two years his junior from Fordyce, a worker from the Seafield Estate, who went on to be his wife.
They married and moved to Aberdeen in 1963, where John worked from the Journals’ base on Broad Street.
Their first home was in Rosehill Drive but when their only son Keith came along in 1965 they moved to Primrosehill Drive.
The family would later relocate to Peterculter and then Westhill, before retiring to Banff.
With a young son, John and Frances enjoyed weekends in Fordyce or Portsoy where Keith’s grandparents lived.
Sadie – John’s mum, remarried George Wood MBE, who would later become the last provost of Portsoy.
Aberdeen Journals
John’s career flourished and he moved from writing to sub-editing the paper, which he loved doing.
Still there when the Journals moved to Lang Stracht, he began editing features.
Keith Duncan remembers his dad’s days working for The Press and Journal.
He said: “As a child I have fond memories of him covering the Turriff and Keith shows, and he was involved with the farming section.
“The paper was always so full and he was so committed to making sure everything was done correctly, to get the paper out.
“At one time there was a big strike at the Journals and for the best part of two years he was one of only a handful of people who got the paper out.”
Doting dad
A lover of books, John liked to spend his time off reading and listening to classical music. Although it wasn’t unknown for him to hum along to the rock music coming from his son’s room.
However, due to most of his work being done in the evenings he had plenty of time to spend with Keith growing up.
“Dad worked a lot of nights but that meant he was around for me during the day. He’d pick me up from school – and by that I mean he was there in foot and he’d walk me to the park for a kickabout or a game of cricket.
“He was the best of coaches, having secured many sporting trophies of his own during his youth.
“This went up a level if uncle Tommy and my cousin were there too! Before long we’d have 11-a-side in the park and that’s when it really got serious.”
High days and holidays
Throughout the years, John and Frances enjoyed taking trips together. John would be principal bag holder as Frances loved nothing better than a trip to the shops. London was a particular favourite.
His abiding attitude was that if Frances was happy, he was happy.
And so they both were.
Sleeping – despite the noise of a child who played drums – was another of John’s skills.
“My dad was so laid back,” Keith said, “he could sleep absolutely anywhere. My mum would shout at him, ‘John! Wake up! It’s only two in the afternoon!'”
Churchgoer
Despite growing up with a family-run pub John was teetotal.
Keith said he never saw his dad, a lifelong attendee of Peterculter and Banff Churches of Scotland, drunk or even tipsy.
“He was always more a coffee or tea man. I think he saw too many things growing up in the pub.”
As well as being a doting dad John became an equally devoted grandfather. He was Granda John to his two granddaughters, Rebecca and Kara, and enjoyed making trips into Aberdeen as often as he could to see them.
Greatly missed
In 2017 Frances passed away, irreparably changing John’s life.
Just as he was starting to find his feet on his own he fell and broke his back in the garden.
For his first 82 years, he had perfect health. He never missed a day of work and had never seen a doctor far less been in hospital, but after the fall he needed extra support as his health worsened.
He moved into Banff Care Home and passed away on July 11 after a period of illness.
Keith added: “He wasn’t just my dad, he was my best friend. He influenced my life in so many ways. He helped me with my university thesis and he encouraged me in sport and music. His example of fatherhood is something I hope I can replicate.
“A great man, greatly missed.”
You can read the family’s announcement here.
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