Former plasterer was a former Sunday School teacher

He was 84 and lived at Lenaderg on the Huntly Road. Roly was the son of the late Wilson and Minnie McAdam and was predeceased by his brothers Wilson and James and his sister Joy.

He and his beloved wife, Kathleen, would have completed 58 years of married life on January 26. He was a loving and caring husband to Kathleen, who he always affectionately called Kitty. Their love for each other seemed to grow

even stronger as the years passed and was an inspiration to all who knew them.

He leaves four children and 14 grandchildren. David is married to Lorraine with children, Philip, Andrew and Jonathan; Rodney married to Rosemary with children Paul, Ross and Claire; William married to Phyllis with children David, Rebekah, James, Thomas and Roland; and Shirley is married to Neil McClelland with children Stuart, Peter and Kate.

He was a highly skilled plasterer and many buildings in the area bear testimony to his skill both in exterior finishing and interior decorative plasterwork. He worked together with his friend, George Mills, for around 40 years.

During his life he came to realise that he was a sinner and that the Lord Jesus, had died on the cross for sinners and he put his trust in the Saviour. One of his favourite verses was Isaiah 53v6 - “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

He met with the believers at Banbridge Gospel Hall and attended all the meetings when his health allowed. He would often preach the gospel at Sunday night meetings or in the open air.

He loved to teach in the Sunday school at Kilpike and many children appreciate and remember what they learned from him.

He was a man of prayer and he would pray for his children and grandchildren every day as well as for anyone whom he knew was in difficulty. His prayers always came from his heart and there were no formal repetitions with him. He prayed earnestly that God would save all his children and grandchildren and God answered those prayers.

His children will always remember him as a loving father who cared deeply for each of them and who made many sacrifices on their behalf to ensure that they had a good education and could achieve their aims in life. Most of all however they remember him as a Father who taught them to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God’, to read and to seek to obey the Bible as the Word of God and to put their trust in Christ early in life and to use their lives in the service of God. By his life he demonstrated to them, and to all he came in contact with, the reality of God’s salvation.

He will be greatly missed by all who knew him but he is at home ‘with Christ which is far better’. The funeral took place on January 14 at Banbridge Gospel Hall with burial afterwards in the New Cemetery. A service in the home was taken by Mr Jim Wishart. The service in the hall was taken by Mr David Radcliff and family tributes were made by his grandchildren, Paul, Peter and Andrew and also by his son David. At the graveside Mr Roland Pickering preached the gospel.

The family appreciate the many people who sent expressions of sympathy or who came to the home or to the funeral. They would also like to thank, Dr McCandless and the medical and nursing staff of Banbridge Clinic for their faithful care over many years, the district nursing team for their dedicated work, Boots Pharmacy for their attentive preparation of his medicines, the medical and nursing staff of Craigavon and Lurgan hospital for their care in his final days, the believers of Banbridge Gospel Hall for their love and tremendous support and for providing refreshments at the funeral, the Elim Church for the use of their car park and also Mr Wm Bell & Co for the funeral arrangements.

William Bell and Co. had charge of the funeral arrangements.