Sad passing of past NSA Chairman

Family and friends gathered at Balquhidder to celebrate the life of John Ewen McNaughton OBE. JP. FRAgs who died on January 14, 2025.

Born on 28th May 1933 in Edinburgh and educated at Loretto in Musselburgh. On leaving school he and a friend set sail to the USA where they worked for some time on a cattle ranch in Montana. On return, he was put to work at the Braes, or as he said, he was given a dog and a stick and told to get on with it. Not long after coming back from the US and wearing a Stetson, he met his wife of 68 years Jananne, at a sale in Killin Livestock Market.

John was great supporter of the Young Farmers movement and particularly his home club of Killin Young Farmers.

With the loss of his parents in the late sixties he and Jananne stepped up to run the farm themselves. By this time, they had moved up to Inverlochlarig.

As well as day to day farming, he had many other mainly farming related extra-curricular activities. He was a keen member of the NFU and served on its council. He was also a member of the Panel of Arbiters from 1973 and did many farm valuations.

He was a JP and probably one of the jobs he enjoyed most was sitting as a magistrate, dispensing justice, in the Stirling District Court.

John was elected as the Central Scotland British Wool Marketing Board member in 1975, and he served on the Red Deer Commission from 1975 for a number of years.

In 1981 he was appointed chairman of SQBLA, a job he did until 1997. This involved many trips abroad promoting Beef and Lamb to places like Hong Kong, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Italy. With his love of sheep, he became chairman of the National Sheep Association from 1983 to 1985 and attended meetings in London and Great Malvern. He was involved with the Royal Highland Education Trust as secretary of the Forth Valley Countryside initiative.

In 1985 he received an OBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace and was elected as a fellow of the royal agricultural societies (FRAgs) in 1987. Doing his bit for the local community John was session clerk at Balquhidder church for 25 years and chairman and trustee of the village hall, where he was heavily involved with the funding and building of the new village hall in the late 1990’s.

Much loved father to Malcolm, Alan, Carolyn and Fiona and proud grandfather, and great-grandfather, he will be sorely missed.