RETIRED teacher Miss Mary McIvor Bruce, was born on 30 September 1914, and died earlier this month in Dornoch, aged 96.
Mary Bruce, former head teacher of Croick Primary School, near Ardgay, had her family roots in the village of Mey in Caithness. They worshipped in the ancient Canisbay Church and some are buried there.
Mary was born in Wick, the second child of Henry and Jeanie Bruce (née Mowat). She had an elder brother, George, who died in 1924, when he was 13.
Her father was a farm labourer. In 1918, when Mary was four years old, the family moved to Conon in Ross-shire, where she started school.
She later attended Dingwall Academy, where she excelled academically, winning many prizes.
She enjoyed school and studied a range of subjects, including French, German and Latin, but her favourite subject was English.
She wrote excellent essays and poetry, often submitting them for national competitions.
Mary was 20 when her mother passed away and she stayed at home to look after her father until he died in 1940.
She always wanted to be a primary teacher and did some uncertificated teaching in Ross-shire until, in 1942, at the age of 28, she had the opportunity to study at Aberdeen Training College.
She used to recall the scary wartime moments, with air raids and visits to the college bomb shelter.
On qualifying in 1945, she was appointed to Achnahannet, a one-teacher Side School linked to Culrain, near Ardgay. Side schools, set up often in remote communities, were common in the Highlands in those days, when poor roads and transport made it difficult to reach the school in the nearest village.
Mary taught in single teacher schools throughout her 34-year career. When Achnahannet closed, she was transferred to Upper Knockbain, near Munlochy. When it, too closed, due to a decline in the local population, she was transferred to Croick, from where she retired in 1979. She went to live in Muir of Ord a year later.
As a teacher, Mary was very much of the "old school". Pupils were well drilled in the 3Rs. She was strict but kind, while firmly of the belief that children should know their place!
She enjoyed working with young people and was greatly respected by pupils and their parents, many of whom she had also taught.
Her small schools were like families and she used to say that, over the seven years she taught them, she knew them as well, if not better than their parents did. For some of the regular school trips she planned, she would buy a family rail card and take the pupils on the train. She kept in touch with a host of ex pupils and they kept in touch with her. When they had families of their own, she would knit booties for the babies, send birthday cards and follow their progress in life with interest.
Mary was an avid collector and kept a range of artefacts from her own and her parents' childhood as well as from her days as a teacher. Many items have been donated to the Museum of Childhood in Strathpeffer, who are proposing to mount an exhibition dedicated to her memory sometime next year
She had a quick wit and a great sense of humour, often against herself. Many will remember her as a quiet, gentle and contented person, with a great interest in and love of children, wildlife, reading and travel.
Although education was dear to her heart, even more central to her life was her Christian faith. A regular churchgoer, only severe illness stopped her attending - and she was rarely ill!
Mary regularly supported Christian conferences and other events across the country, including the Keswick and the Highland Northern Conventions, both of which she attended for over 50 years. She was a generous financial supporter of many Christian organisations.
Mary continued to live at home on her own and was able to get out and about until recently. In April this year, when she could no longer cope, she moved to Oversteps Eventide Home in Dornoch, where she was surrounded by Christian love and care.
Mary died peacefully in her sleep on Monday, 1 August 2011. Her relatives, friends and former pupils, many of whom turned out to her funeral at Urray Free Church, Muir of Ord, will remember her fondly. John Muir
