The Late Bob Ballantyne
We are grateful to Gary Ballantyne for penning the following short tribute to the recently deceased Bob Ballantyne, and also for providing details of Bob’s funeral arrangements.
“Bob Ballantyne aged sixty-one, died at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on 15 June 2004, after a short illness.
A life long Clyde fan and ambassador to the Clyde cause wherever he travelled, Bob had many friends and acquaintances throughout the Clyde fraternity and will be dearly missed.
A survivor from the Piper Alpha Oil rig disaster, he campaigned before, during and after for improved health and safety standards. He appeared in many media sources over the last sixteen years promoting health and safety issues and where appropriate mentioning “the Clyde” in dispatches.
He recently featured in a double page article penned by Bill Leckie, prior to the ICT game, with the memorable quote that when in the sea after jumping from the rig, the motivation for survival was that he had always wanted to see the Clyde lift the European Cup!
Anybody interest in going to the crematorium should note that the service takes place on Monday 21 June at 2.55pm at the West Chapel, Aberdeen Crematorium.”
Bob’s sudden death has prompted a number of very appreciative comments on the website forum, with more than one reference to Graeme Smith’s moving feature in Wednesday’s Herald newspaper which we have re-produced here.
Bob Ballantyne was a man of immense pride