Councillor;
Born October 10, 1932;
Died July 23, 2007.

RONALD Kinloch, who has died aged 74 while chairing a council meeting, was born and spent his whole life in Cardross, Dunbartonshire where his father was schoolmaster and session clerk and his mother, the source of great musical talent in the family.

From his childhood home he witnessed and could vividly recall the shattering of the town in the bombing of May 5, 1941, and later in life, particularly through his distinguished service with Argyll & Bute Council, was to contribute in a host of ways to the building of the life of the community.

Proud of his schooling at Glasgow Academy and cherishing friendships from these days, he was to lead a successful business life, first with Paddy Henderson Ship Owners in Glasgow and then in Helensburgh as a partner in the travel firm Murray & Bigger and through his own estate agency.

In the local community he was held in the very highest regard. He was a founder member and former president of the Rotary Club of Helensburgh and was particularly active in the international work of Rotary.

He is remembered as a man of immense talent, kindness and commitment, never afraid to be passionate about what he believed in - above all, his own community for which he cared so deeply and served so notably as a member of Helensburgh District Council, then with Argyll & Bute Council, serving for 17 years as councillor for Cardross, then as convener of Helensburgh & Lomond Area Committee. He was also a trustee of the Cardross Trust, an unfailing supporter of the community council, a member of Cardross school board and chairman of the board of governors of Lomond School Helensburgh.

Among fellow councillors he was universally respected and exercised a sensitive caring role to all staff.

An elder since 1970, he was passionate, too, about his Christian faith and was an outspoken defender of traditional values and an unwavering supporter of his church and choir, in which he sang for 58 years.

Kinloch was a man of deep compassion, always a sensitive listener, a dedicated carer and befriender and acts of generosity marked his whole life.

Of his varied talents many recall not only his musical skills - he was a fine bass singer and in his day a capable cellist and founder member of the Helensburgh Orchestra - but also his huge dramatic ability, playing leading roles with Dumbarton People's Theatre, the Green Room and Helensburgh Theatre Arts. In concerts he was a star, and none who heard it will ever forget his rendering of Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud with its wonderful falsetto verse. So much was drama in his blood that it could on occasion emerge at public or council meetings.

He fostered an expert knowledge of antique furniture, a delight in fine cars and considerable sporting prowess: in his day he was a natural golfer, a life member at Cardross and latterly at Loch Lomond clubs. At home he treated his garden with great care and that rejoiced his heart, being offended if even a single daisy appeared on his cherished lawn.

With far-flung family he loved to travel, to Australia or Germany or on cruises where he was in his element and longed for a cruise without ports.

Family was pivotal to his whole life. He was a devoted husband, proud and supportive father and father-in-law, and a delighted "Gramps" to seven grandchildren.

The service in celebration of his life in Cardross Church was hugely attended, a visible testimony to the mark he made on very many lives.