Obituary: Jim Gracie

Born in Hawick on 12 September 1944, Jim Gracie devoted his life to his family and rugby.

A centre/stand-off in his playing days with junior clubs in Hawick, his work in the knitwear trade took him to Montreal in Canada in 1967, before he returned to Scotland and continued in knitwear in Tillicoultry.

He began his long association with Alloa Rugby Club and when injury forced him to retire from playing, he fulfilled a number of off-field roles for the club, including vice-president and then president.

His work took him to Israel in the late 1980s, where, once again he contributed to local rugby, as a referee, before he came home to Scotland and launched Callant Knitwear.

He served on the Midlands District Committee and then the combined committee with the North, before joining the SRU General Committee as Midlands District representative in the 1995-96 season.

During his ten-year stint on the general committee, rugby endured the birth pangs of the game becoming professional, but he rose through the ranks to become Junior Vice President, before organisational change in the 2005/06 season.

Graham Kerr, a former colleague from Alloa, North and Midlands and Scottish Rugby, said: “Jimmy was a typical Hawick man – never flustered and a real gent.

“He was Mr Rugby at Alloa and even though his health had been failing in recent years, he would still come to the club.

“There’s been a lot of sorrow in the WhatsApp messages since we learned of Jimmy’s passing, but all the messages have been really complimentary.

“I don’t know anyone who had anything bad to say about Jimmy.  He’ll be much missed.”

Scottish Rugby extends its sincere condolences to Jim Gracie’s family and friends. Jim’s funeral is on Thursday 11 July at 1 pm at Stirling Crematorium,  Falkirk Rd, Bannockburn, Stirling FK7 8AJ