Retired civil servant Mary Nisbet has been awarded a prestigious long-service medal.
Mary Nisbet, from Gilmerton, worked for 42 years for the Civil Service in an admin role.
She retired in June when she turned 65, and her dedication throughout her years of service has now been rewarded as she was presented with the Imperial Servic
e Medal to mark her civil service career.
Mrs Nisbet joined the Scottish Office in 1961 and was assigned to the Home Department's Ministerial typing pool.
She spent many years as a typing supervisor and was very well respected by her staff and colleagues.
In 1993, she transferred to the newly-created Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) as an administrator and in September 2002 she was among the agency staff who relocated to the Borders when SPPA moved offices.
One of her most loved responsibilities was, along with her colleague, training up to 80 people in the Borders in computer literacy.
The award came as a complete shock to Mrs Nisbet, as she didn't find out until after she had retired.
She said: "I retired in June and I went on holiday and when I came back I received a letter saying I was getting this award.
"It was quite out of the blue, but I was delighted, and so were my family. I don't know how it came about, but generally what happens is someone puts you forward for it.
"I really liked the Borders people and I enjoyed working there."
Mrs Nisbet took two breaks from her job to have her two children, Kenneth, who is 39 and lives in New Zealand, and Karen, 34, who lives in Edinburgh.
But she decided she wanted to go back to work.
So far Mrs Nisbet has spent her retirement catching up friends and spending time with family. She also enjoys decorating and doing things around the house, so is looking forward to having the time to do more of this.
However, she won't have all her time to herself as she also often looks after her grandchildren, Leon, four, and Ellie, three, when her daughter Karen – who is an air stewardess with British Midland Airways – is working.
Mrs Nisbet was delighted to be able to take her family to the ceremony when she was awarded the medal.
Neville Mackay, SPPA chief executive, praised Mrs Nisbet's lengthy dedication.
He said: "To be awarded the Imperial Service Medal is a tribute to Mary's outstanding service to Scottish public life."
The full article contains 428 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
