Jack Rendall RIP

I make no apologies for a late, and repeated, Blip.  For today Jack Rendall left us.  CMC’s Uncle was interred in the Hoy Kirk.  Jack had reached 87.  In his late teens no-one would have guessed this as he spent nearly 3 years in East bank Hospital and the Aberdeen Infirmary, with TB.  In those days TB medicine was pioneering and Jack had a lung removed.  He lived all his days in the Glen, Rackwick.  He attended school with a handful of pupils and his mother was the teacher.

Although ‘the end of an era’ is a cliché that’s trotted out too often, in this case it is true.  Jack was the last original Rackwick-born man who still lived in the valley.  A very weel kent face in Orkney.  His death was featured in the Orcadian and on Radio Orkney.  A couple of folk even flew in from Chicago for his funeral. 

There were even extra ferries laid on to get folk across to the Hoy Pier. The Hoy Kirk will probably never see another funeral like this again.  He got a really good send off.  The lone piper at the graveside was a tear jerker; as were the squalls of hail that flew in from the Atlantic.   I would encourage everyone to visit https://hoyheritage.wordpress.com/hoy-films/ and catch a superb gem of a film (made two years ago) where Jack discusses his life.  We lost a real gent today.  He gave us many, many happy hours. R.I.P.