THE Lochgelly community was this week coming to terms with the sudden death while on a family cycling holiday in the Southern Hebrides, of John Blamey, a prominent local Churchman and Burnsian, who gave over 40 years’ service to newspaper publishing and commercial printing and helped produce the Times for many years.

Mr Blamey (69), of Hugh Avenue, Lochgelly, was a time-served compositor, entering the printing industry with John Westwater & Son, in Bank Street, publishers of the former Cowdenbeath Advertiser and the Lochgelly Times, in the early 1960s.

He moved to Dunfermline following that company’s take-over in 1966 by A. Romanes & Son Ltd., printers and publishers of the Dunfermline Press, which quickly became Scottish leaders in the industry’s technology transition from letterpress to photo-lithography.

As the company grew into Scotland’s biggest independent newspaper holding, with some 40 regional titles in four UK jurisdictions, Mr Blamey was promoted from assistant caseroom manager to overseer of its Dunfermline IT operations in computerised type-setting and digital page composition.

An Open University graduate, Mr Blamey was a prominent Churchman, serving Macainsh Parish Church, of which he was a former session clerk, and its successor congregation of St Serf’s.

At the time of his death, Mr Blamey was also treasurer of Cowdenbeath & District Probus Club, a member of East Fife Male Voice Choir and a season-ticket holder at East End Park, being a long time supporter of Dunfermline Athletic.

He was formerly a member of Bowhill People’s Burns Club and a playing member of Lochgelly and Cowdenbeath Brass Bands.

Times Chief Reporter Jim Stark said: "I was fortunate to know John from when I started work with the the paper way back in 1973, just after the Advertiser and the Times merged to become the Central fife Times and he was someone who was always there to help you no matter what the problem might be.

"He was also very good contributor to news gathering with in his many roles in the community and he will be someone who will be sadly missed by all who knew him."

Mr Blamey is survived by his wife, Karla, whom he met while on a cultural trip to the former Czechoslovakia, and by their sons, Colin and Gregor, and daughter Isla, all of whom are professional musicians, and three grandchildren.

His funeral services will be held on Wednesday, August 8 – at St Serf’s Parish Church, Lochgelly, at 10.30am; and at Kirkcaldy Crematorium at 11.45a.m