Ian Whyte, lawyer and senior partner of Marshall, Henderson & Whyte of Edinburgh and Bonnyrigg, has died aged 73.
Ian Whyte was born on 16 January, 1936, and educated at The Edinburgh Academy.
He had been Dux of the preparatory school and had been awarded the Latin and Greek prizes every year in the upper school.
Following the sudden death of his father d
uring his final term, Ian started his law apprenticeship in his late father's office, going to Edinburgh University for his law degree.
While he eventually pursued a career in law, his varied talents made him ideally suited to a number of other pursuits.
There were some who thought that the sermon he preached in Warrender Park Church as member of the Youth Fellowship would lead him to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, a Church of Scotland minister.
Some also thought that his interest in cricket would lead to a career in sports journalism, specialising in cricket commentaries.
He inherited his love for cricket from his father and played as a junior member of Carlton Cricket Club, playing regularly for the second XI.
He was also a keen golfer, inheriting his interest and ability from his mother, who had previously been the lady champion of Craigmillar Park Golf Club.
Ian played for three years in the Craigmillar junior team, in the Scottish boys championship at North Berwick, and in the Edinburgh boys' championship over the Braid Hills.
As a senior member he won the men's championship before leaving to join Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society.
Still using his mother's putter, Ian got down to a handicap of one, playing in the British Amateur at St Andrews in 1957 and every year for the Academicals in the Halford Hewitt at Deal and the Dispatch Trophy over the Braid Hills.
He also had a keen interest in politics, becoming a member of the Newington Young Unionists and later the West Edinburgh Unionists, eventually going on to serve as chairman.
In 1964, he married Marlene at Birnie Kirk near Elgin and they joined St Ninian's Church, where he served as clerk to the deacons' court for 35 years.
After their sons, Campbell and Alan, left home, the couple moved to Kinnesswood, situated between their sons' homes and St Andrews, where Ian was a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.
A founder member of the Cricket Society of Scotland, Ian also attended the test matches every summer and visited every test match ground in England, and attended every Scotland rugby international except one from 1946 to 2008.
He was a great collector of items that reflected his many interests and hobbies, kept a personal diary updated every second day for 64 years, and kept detailed golf diaries.
Ian eventually combined his organisational skills, sporting knowledge and early journalistic promise with a book, A Century of Edinburgh Academical Golf, published in 2000.
He died on 12 June, in Kinnesswood, Kinross. He is survived by his wife and sons.
