Perth's first female provost's daughter pays tribute to devoted mum who always put others' needs first
The daughter of Perth's first ever female provost has paid tribute to her mum as a devoted family woman who always put others first.
Jean McCormack DL died on Wednesday, June 18 aged 87.
First elected onto Perth and Kinross Council in 1982, Jean went on to serve as deputy leader, leader of the administration, then provost from 1992 to 1996 and was a Deputy Lieutenant until aged 76.
Born and raised in Dundee, Jean was the second of four girls.
She is survived by her husband Peter (88), son Peter (62), daughter Carrie McLennan (60) and her five grandchildren: Katie, Reece and Lewis McLennan and Patrick and Olivia McCormack.
Daughter Carrie said her mum was "always thinking of other people and how to make life easier for others".
While Jean served as a Conservative councillor, her political life started with a stint doing voluntary work for a senior SNP politician.
Her uncle Wallace Kinloch was the election agent for SNP MP for Perth and East Perthshire Douglas Crawford. He asked her to take on the job of constituency secretary in 1976.
Carrie said: "She was unsure about it but he said, 'You can write letters, answer telephone calls, what else do you need'? And she thrived on that and really enjoyed it. It was a voluntary role.
"Then she moved on to become an election agent, but after tackling a general election and a Euro election in the same year she took two years out, before winning a by-election in her own ward, the Carse of Gowrie as a Conservative."
Helping others was what drove Jean.
Carrie said: "For my mum, the politics were less important than serving the community and the people in that community."
During her time as councillor she played a part in securing sheltered housing in Errol and was proud of Perth's reputation in town twinning and the start of Perth in Bloom's repeated success.
Perth first won Scotland in Bloom in 1992 before going on to win its first Britain in Bloom award in 1993, claiming the large town trophy ahead of 1300 entrants.
Carrie said: "She drove the application as provost and they went down to London for the award and had quite a hoolie in the hotel room I believe."
Carrie added: "For five years she was chair of Friends of Aschaffenburg, Perth's longest established twin town and she was on the working committee for the Peace Child event and formed close ties with John Chan of the Jade Garden restaurant in Perth."
In August 1997 Jean was awarded Officer of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for promoting British-Polish relations and it was her work with the Polish community she was most proud of.
Back in 1986, her son Peter announced he was going on a rail holiday to Poland and what was then Czechoslovakia. This being before the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, it was a somewhat unusual holiday choice.
It helped spark a long-lasting friendship between Jean and her husband Peter and a local Polish couple Nana and Janek Jarmulski, who frequented Perth's Conservative Club.
When Britain geared up for celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day in May 1995, Janek and Nana expressed concern to Jean that the Poles might again be excluded from any commemorations.
As Provost, Jean was the driving force behind arranging for Perth to host the largest VE commemorations in 1995 outside London and she made sure the Polish veterans were warmly invited.
As a former primary school teacher, Jean valued education and was devoted to her family.
Jean and her husband Peter - who lived on the same Dundee street - began dating in their teens. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in December 2024.
The pair loved cruising and, according to Carrie, "saw most of the world from a cruise deck".
And, as Peter is the co-owner of Perthshire Caravans, it is perhaps no surprise they enjoyed caravan and motorhome holidays. The couple travelled all over Scotland and Europe and only stopped recently when the COVID pandemic hit. In fact, they loved it so much they even lived in a caravan, when they lived in England, until their house was built in 1970.
Becoming Perth's first female provost was a huge deal.
Carrie said: "It was massive at the time and she was nervous about it. One of the highlights for her was the relationship she had with the High Constables of Perth.
"I was at home the first time she had to go to the annual dinner. She was the only woman in a room of 100-odd men.
"I remember she said her first joke was, 'Now gentlemen, you need to look really closely at what I'm wearing, which caused confusion until she said - because it will be the first thing your wives will ask you when you get home'.
"It's a joke of its time. Mum was a woman of her generation."
Jean's funeral will take place at Perth Crematorium on Wednesday, July 9 at 1.30pm. All are welcome.
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