Mike Scott

Born: June 7, 1952;

Died: November 28, 2015

The West of Scotland legal profession and the people of Ayrshire lost one of their proudest sons when Mike Scott, who has died aged 63, lost his battle with cancer.

It was testament to the respect and fondness in which he was held that more than 300 friends and colleagues, sheriffs et al, braved biblical weather to pay tribute to him at Ayr Crematorium last Saturday. And this for someone who genuinely did not expect many people to turn up. That is the measure of this quiet, modest and private man.

The only child of Walter and Pat Scott, Mike was educated at Ayr Grammar and Ayr Academy before studying law at Glasgow University. He joined what was then the firm of John W and G Lockhart as an apprentice in 1975 and served there for 40 years. People did that then. The local boy goes to the local school, the local university and comes back to his home town to serve the community.

He forged a lifelong business and personal friendship with Peter Lockhart, who spoke so well at his funeral, steering Lockharts through good times and bad, changes of office and personnel to its current position of strength. Lockharts was not just a day job - it was his career, a calling, his family.

He gained the respect not just of staff and immediate colleagues, his professionalism and integrity were a given. He served not just his clients and his firm, but the profession, spending many years on the Council of Ayr Faculty before becoming dean in 2008.

Former dean of the Kilmarnock Faculty, Campbell Fullarton, was quoted at the service as saying “He was unfailingly fair and pleasant to deal with, as he had a co-operative approach to legal issues, always looking to see how the desired result could be achieved for both parties. In some respects, he was perhaps a throwback to an earlier age, but if that were true, it was the best qualities of the earlier age that he exhibited.”

But there was more to Mike than the law. Much more. A member at Royal Troon with a wonderfully parabolic golf shot, he was also a devotee of a certain south side of Glasgow football team who he followed through thick and thin.

It was however Ayr Cricket Club which benefitted most from his commitment. Mike joined as a 15 year old and played for over 40 years, formerly as Strathclyde League Captain and latterly as 2nd XI captain. His career ended in the 2nd XI, I am assured, only because Ayr could not muster a 3rd XI.

The point was Mike served his sport. He did not just play and go the way people do now. And that is a profound difference - putting something back. It was not just about him - it was about cricket. He supported his sport and was rewarded with trips to Lords and what Peter Lockhart describes as the largest gin and tonics known to mankind.

And Jackie, his widow. Most of all Jackie,who soldiered through her own health issues and supported him to the end. Our thoughts are with her. We are not good at saying nice things about people when they are alive. That’s a shame. The Proclaimers summed it up: “We should have told you. But you know our sense of timing, We always wait too long.”

Sorry we did, Mike. You were a great guy.