Morag Hunter (1951 – 2016)
Friends in Information Services remember Morag Hunter, Acquisitions and Metadata Assistant
Morag started work as a Library Assistant at the Main Library In 1988. She joined staff in the Reserve Section on the 2nd floor of the Main Library, in what was then known as the Reading Room.
Work here involved the processing of Essay Lists for undergraduate material being placed in the 3 hour loan section. Work was busy, sometimes frantic, but Morag loved the fast pace and excitement that it brought. She loved the interaction with students, and being able to get to know certain individuals personally. There was a certain mothering instinct in Morag knowing that some of these kids were young, in a strange environment, and away from home for the first time. In the early days of computing, print material reigned supreme, and who couldn’t love the sight of students, racing in to the library early morning, in pyjamas, to secure their 3 hour loan books.
Over the years Morag progressed to working in the Library’s Acquisitions department, responsible for ordering new library materials, ironically more electronic than print. She took on this new challenge, and enjoyed the work and company of new colleagues, many of whom became personal friends outside of work.
Morag was quiet, but had a great sense of humour. She was kind, thoughtful and helpful, and always there for friends and colleagues to confide in. She took great pride in her work, and her attention to detail was meticulous.
Her last few years were plagued with ill health, but she was never one to complain or moan. In fact she and her family often joked about the amount of time away from work she had to have. No-one could have known then, just what was to come.
It was her cancer diagnosis in 2015 that devastated Morag most of all. She took early retirement to spend as much quality time with her family as possible. Sadly this time was all too short, and the things that she and the family had planned were not to be. Knowing she would never see her beloved grand-daughter Freya grow up, was the worst thing for Morag.
Morag slept away peacefully, after a long fight with cancer in St. Columba’s Hospice, surrounded by her family, in August 2016.
She is sadly missed by all her friends and colleagues in IS.
She leaves behind her husband Ralph, her mum, three daughters, Louise, Shona and Amy and her granddaughter Freya.