Dr Alex Harrow, a much loved long serving member and elder of St Andrew’s has died at the age of 95. He was a man of deep faith, generosity and wisdom, offering friendship and pastoral care with grace and sensitivity. He led worship regularly, the last occasion just three months before his death, and served as an elder to the end of his life.

Alex trained as a doctor in Glasgow before moving to England where he became a GP in Cresswell on the Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire border. After he retired he became a police surgeon, responding to call outs, sometimes even during church services. Fascinated by nonconformist church history, he took a degree in history in retirement, supervised by Professor Clyde Binfield of the University of Sheffield. He edited a history of St Andrew’s from origins as a mission outreach of St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Sheffield (now St Andrew’s URC) in 1932. Alex played the piano, loved organ music, enjoying singing the metrical psalms of the Scottish Kirk, and regularly attended concerts of classical music in Sheffield.

Although at times he called the elders meeting ‘the session’ (his Scottish Presbyterian roots were strong), he honoured the United Reformed Church, occasionally attending Synod meetings and annually reminding church and elders meetings that the Ministry and Mission Fund, which pays the ministers’ stipends, is the first call on local church finances. His personal giving matched up to that. He had a long and happy marriage to Margaret whom he cared for in her final years when she suffered from dementia. Margaret regularly arranged flowers in church and Alex continued her tradition of donating poinsettias to decorate the church at Christmas every year.

He will be greatly missed by his sons John and Andrew, grandchildren and great grandchildren and also by neighbours and many friends, and of course by the members and friends of St Andrew’s.