One of Kirkcudbrightshire’s most remarkable women of recent times has died.
Margaret McConchie was laid to rest at Anwoth churchyard yesterday afternoon.
The ceremony followed a funeral service at nearby GG’s Yard, the wedding venue named in her honour.
Mrs McConchie, 101, was regarded as “a local celebrity”. Just six months previously she raised £13,000 for the NHS by flying down a giant zip wire.
GG’s Yard owner Duncan McMcConchie paid tribute to his redoubtable grandmother.
He said: “She was the beacon for the whole family and our matriarch. She will be missed by all of us and her name lives on in everything she has created.
“GG’s Yard was built as a namesake to her. The standards we developed are those by which she did everything in life.”
Duncan added: “She outlived her brother and sisters and so many of her friends. She was very much the last of her group. My grannie was the local celebrity, she really was.”
Mrs McConchie’s determination to remain fit and active remained with her until her last brief illness. She died peacefully on December 16.
“Ten days before she passed away she was up and about,” Duncan said. “She walked up the hill to our Gather restaurant and it was no bother to her. She was very focused on doing things like that.
“She had only been in bed for five days,” Duncan added. “She was very dignified right up until the end.”
Hundreds of people posted messages of condolence to the family on social media.
Former BBC journalist Willie Johnston said: “I never had the pleasure of meeting GG. But she was clearly a remarkable woman and a great inspiration to the whole McConchie family who, I’m sure, will miss her terribly. ”
TGB Gatehouse project co-ordinator Sarah-leigh Cain said: “So sorry to hear this, what a lady though and such terrific memories you all have.”
Stephanie Van der Zee of Gatehouse Store added: “She was an amazing lady and an inspiration to us all.”
She told guests: “I have seen my five children exceed pension age, the birth of 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. There’s another on the way – something worth waiting for. I feel so blessed in life.”
