‘True Johnstons of Elgin legend’: Jackie Dean retires after 48 years
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NEARLY 50 years after starting work at Johnstons of Elgin, mill linchpin and longest-serving staff member Jackie Dean has retired.
Jackie (63) was 16-years-old when she joined Johnstons straight out of school in 1976.
Starting in spinning before moving to quality control, the Elgin local’s final role saw her tasked with checking whether raw fibres met the grade for the firm’s products.
Last Wednesday, dozens of colleagues, family and friends celebrated Jackie as a “special and loyal colleague” on her final day.
Johnstons of Elgin chairman Jenny Urquhart said Jackie was an “absolute perfectionist” with standards of “the very highest calibre”.
Jackie’s work saw her combine high-tech testing methods with an expert knowledge of materials, gathered during an almost 48-year career.
In 2020, she was awarded a UK Manufacturing Hero honour from industry body UKFT.
Despite technology changing massively during her working life, Jackie said she always relied on her finely tuned senses while deciding whether fabric was good enough.
She handed the reins to her niece Karen Dean, who also works in the raw material team and has stepped up to take over her role.
Jackie was pleased to have had the chance to support Karen by sharing her years of expertise.
“There have been really big changes from when I started,” she said.
“Everything has changed, especially with all the computers.
“And you now need more legal documents for fabric, especially when they are coming into the country and going out.”
Her working life saw her build a huge network of friends as far afield as Stornaway and the Scottish Borders.
This includes both past and current Johnstons staff — who she hopes to see even more often in her retirement.
She also plans to spend her free time with family, to go on more holidays, and to tidy up her garden.
“I have made a lot of good friends, I have kept the friends, and there are different groups of us that all meet up,” she said.
“So it is good.”
Wasting no time, Jackie booked a trip to London for the day after her emotional farewell from Johnstons.
She also has trips to Skipton, Benidorm and Durham organised.
Jackie has also played a key role in the company’s fundraising efforts in previous years, for causes including Motor Neuron Disease and an Elgin Hydrotherapy Pool.
She met the late Queen Elizabeth II during a visit by the monarch to RAF Lossiemouth, and also met Princess Anne in 2017.
In her speech, Chairman Jenny Urquhart revealed that a hiring manager left a block-capitals note on Jackie’s original 1976 job application — dubbing her a “good prospect”.
She added: “She’s not only a true Johnstons legend, Jackie is a legend in the textile industry.
“It just leaves us now to say a huge thank you.
“You are leaving employment today but you'll always be an inspiration and friend to everyone you have met in Johnstons and the industry.”
Johnstons of Elgin head of compliance Morag Stuart also paid tribute to Jackie from a personal perspective.
“When I moved here from the Scottish borders I didn't know anyone,” Morag said.
“Jackie took me under her wing and invited me out for dinner with other ladies she was friends with from the mill — Mora Symon, Ann Colwell, Kath Fraser and Fiona McInnes.
“Some of whom are here today and all of whom are still friends — although I will now be the last one still working in the mill.”
She added: “I am sure, with your network of friends and connections, you will still always know more about what's going on here than I do - even when you're retired.”
Morag added that Jackie was often known as “Auntie Jack”, not just by her family, but also by a number of work friends and their relatives.
