Mr Thomas Hopkirk Cook who became 100 years old in June enjoyed a celebration in Edinburgh.
Remarkably, until recent years he still lived independently at Curlinghall in Largs...40 yards from where his father was born in 1869.
Thomas Hopkirk Cook, was born in Gateside Street, Largs on 21st June 1912. At the age of six he moved to Glasgow where he lived until 1975.
In 1935 he qualified as a chartered accountant and joined the top Scottish accountancy firm of Thompson McLintock. He joined the TA in 1938, mobilized in August 1939, was promoted to Staff Captain in 1944 and transferred to London to the personal staff of Field Marshal Montgomery two months before D Day.
On demobilisation he was asked to join the old established Glasgow engineering company, John Dalglish and Sons as Deputy Managing Director, later Managing Director in 1964. In 1960, when the company was absorbed by the SCM Corporation of New York, he continued in the same position until his retirement in 1979. In the course of his duties as managing director he visited all continents of the world.
In 1975 he returned to Largs, living in Broomcroft, Castle Bay Court, Warrenpark and finally Curlinghall where he lives today. During this time he spent many summers in his house in Mull overlooking Erraid and his beloved Iona.
The Hopkirks were staunch supporters of the old Parish Church from the 1820s and Thomas Cook returned to St Columba's Parish Church in 1965. For 10 years he was a member of the Finance Committee and chairman of three appeals for cash. He is one of many covenanters for church funds and shared the reading of lessons.
Thomas' uncle Robert, of Largs, also lived to be one hundred.
Thomas has son Gordon in Chester and daughter Ann in Edinburgh where he now resides at Craighall Road Care Home.
Two successive generations of the well known family of Hopkirk were established in Largs in 1820 when Robert Hopkirk, born in Haddington, was married. He operated two herring trawlers and also supplied the inhabitants of Largs with fish from his small canvas shop on the promenade many years before the pier was built.
His son, Thomas Hopkirk, was born in Boyd Street in 1889. He joined the Glasgow firm of textile experts, Arthurs and he worked there until normal retirement age. However, he was so well known and respected in the drapery trade that he was asked to continue working until he was 75.
Thomas Hopkirk served in the First World War. After the Armistice he then served with a British force in Russia at Murmansk. Thomas Hopkirk died in 1989 aged 100. At this time he was living with his son, Stanley, and daughter-in-law, Irene, at their home in Clarkston."