Obituary: John Sneddon, 92

A FORMER postman who was an ardent Hearts supporter has died of pneumonia, age 92.

John Sneddon was a familiar face in Tranent after doing the rounds with Royal Mail for 11 years.

Born at Victoria Place in 1920, he left school when he was 14 and started working at the Fleets Pit, where his grandfather was a blacksmith.

He spent 34 years working at the pits, moving on to Cameron Grants, where he would work on the factory line.

Married to Agnes, the devoted family man went on to have sons James and Gary, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

James, 59, said: “He was a right family man, it was his family that he lived for.

“He loved his family and always looked after us.

“My dad was an avid Hearts supporter in his younger days. The last game I took him to Tynecastle was on this 90th birthday.

“Dad hadn’t been for a number of years so obviously there was a lot of changes at Tynecastle but he loved it.

“There was me, his grandson Jamie and great-grandsons Declan, Ryan and Jack so it was a great family day out.

“We had an announcement made over the Tannoy for him, and they beat St Mirren 3-1 that day.”

John, who lived on Muirpark Place, enjoyed a happy marriage with his wife Agnes, 84, for 65 years.

They would regularly go on holidays and often attended Tranent Day Care Centre’s drop-in cafe together.

John sat on the Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council and the Tranent Day Care Centre committee for a number of years and he and Agnes were both members of Tranent Historical Society.

She said he would have been honoured to know that people wanted to pay tribute to him for his community work.

Friends and former colleagues involved in the different groups said he lead an active part in the community and never let his age become a barrier.

James Ross, chairman of the Tranent Day Care Centre’s volunteer management committee, said he was a very likeable character and would be greatly missed in the town.

He said: “John was a very regular attender at the drop-in cafe at the day centre with Agnes and would chat with local people.

“He was a very good lad and a good man to know. He was a cheery man and quite good to have a chat with. I always found him good company.

“He was one of those men involved in many things. A lot of people will not appreciate the number of things he actually did. He was interested in Tranent and the people in Tranent.”

John died at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on January 11. His funeral service at Seafield Crematorium was attended by many which paid testament to his community work.