Tribute: Moray voluntary worker Anita Milne
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Anita Milne was hugely respected for all the work she did across the voluntary sector in Moray.
A long roll call of community groups considered themselves grateful for her conscientious assistance and energetic support over the decades.
Anita, whose maiden name was Warland, was born 73 years ago in Watford.
One of her early jobs was as the private secretary to one of the UK pioneering surgeons for heart transplants.
Typically she also became involved with fundraising for those ground-breaking operations being performed at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.
It was during this period that she met her husband Gil, who was a bank manager.
Jenny McIntosh, Gil's cousin, knew Anita for many years.
She said: "Anita did a lot for others. She threw herself into all these committees and community groups.
"Even when she was so poorly and unwell she would still go along."
A proud Scot, Gil had a hankering to return north, which is exactly what the couple did in the mid-1980s.
They first stayed with his relations in Kingston, then set up a bed and breakfast business at the house they'd bought in Urquhart.
That property became home to both Anita and Gil for the rest of their lives.
In due course Anita's family followed in her footsteps by moving up to Moray.
Mum and dad, Nelson and Ivy, went to live in Garmouth.
Meanwhile her sister, Marilyn, got married and resided in Lhanbryde.
The list of groups that Anita was involved with over the years in Moray and Scotland is long and impressive.
She was the Scottish manager for the Citizens Advice Bureau.
In addition, Anita chaired the Moray Federation of Community Halls and Associations as well as both the Lhanbryde Community Challenge and the village's community centre.
She held secretarial positions at Pluscarden Abbey, the Milnes Area Forum and Innes Community Council.
Anita was also an organiser of the Moray Transport Forum and a director of Moray Handyman Services.
She was involved in the voluntary sector support organisation before TSI Moray took on the role.
What's more she was a member of the Money For Moray organisation team, the Moray Community Engagement Group and the Moray Area Forum.
Gil predeceased Anita by many years, sadly passing away in 2004 at the age of just 58.
In widowhood, Anita became even more involved with community affairs.
Marc Macrae, who represents the Fochabers/Lhanbryde ward on Moray Council, called her a "friend to many".
He said: "I was truly saddened when I heard the news that Anita had passed away at home following a lengthy struggle against long covid.
"I have known her for many years, not just during my time as the local ward councillor, but from her very active role across the communities striving to make things better for people.
"Anita was a friend to many and a dedicated worker who would do anything to help anyone and to make life easier for those less able to participate.
"She will be greatly missed for her contagious enthusiasm, her words of wisdom, her vast local knowledge and, most of all, for her caring and compassionate listening to others."
A service celebrating Anita's life will be held at St Andrew's Church in Lhanbryde on Thursday, February 2, at 1.30pm. This will be followed by a committal at the village cemetery. All welcome.
