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Obituary
Reverend James Peat
It
is with a very heavy heart I write to express the feelings of
Canine Concern Scotland Trust on the extremely sad and untimely
death of our very dear James Peat - “Father Jim” -
one of our Trustees from the first day of the Trust’s inception
in 1989.
Jim has been a true friend to the Trust and we have always relied
so much on him for his advice and guidance in many different
spheres. I will leave it to others to speak of his expertise
in breeding, judging, serving as Vice-Convener of the Scottish
Kennel Club, many many things. I can only say we shall miss
him and there is no way anyone could ever replace him.
Jim had a natural knack of putting his finger on the pulse of
any matter that arose and we always looked to him at our Trustees
Meetings when there was a difficult problem or decision to be
made. He never failed to set us on the right track and his great
love of animals - and people too - plus a most endearing sense
of humour, we shall never, never forget. We were so fortunate
to have his support and wisdom and it is true to say we are
totally devastated by his loss.
Father Jim’s funeral was held at 12 noon on Tuesday January
14th at his own church, St John Cartius & Nicholas, West
Main Street, Broxburn, West Lothian.
It is hard to believe he has gone. May I on behalf of the Trustees
and all our members, send most heartfelt sympathies to his family
and to all who relied on and loved him.
Marjorie Henley Price
Chair of Trustees
It is with a lump in my throat and a very heavy heart that I
sit down to write this piece.
Jim and I go back a long way and through all the years and many
twists and turns our lives have taken we always remained friends.
We held the same views about Shih Tzu, nurtured on both our
parts by our friend and mentor, Mrs. Gay Widdrington.
I can’t believe Jim has left us. It seems only yesterday
when, at a dog show, he held my five year old daughter in his
arms and said to me, ‘don’t be cross with her, she’s
cut her hair off with your grooming scissors’ or he’d
be dropping in to stay the night on his way to southern dog
show.
He wasn’t always a priest but when he was ordained it seemed
he had achieved his reason to be. He embraced his Catholic religion
and achieved great satisfaction from tending to his parishioners,
who I know thought a great deal of him. Although he loved the
life, he confided to me recently that it was very stressful
taking on board everyone’s problems. That was why he continued
to spend his leisure and relaxation time showing his Shih Tzu
and got to as many shows as he was able. He was a witty and
challenging writer of a Shih Tzu breed note column and I don’t
think he realised how many of us read his words and appreciated
his style.
He will be sadly missed by Shih Tzu folk but more so by his
close knit family of brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces so
to them I say how sincerely sorry we all are that such a lovely
person should have been taken from us so young.
Sue Crossley
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