The Rev Dr Henry Dane Sherrard, known as Dane, was born on 13 March 1946 in a Watford nursing home to parents John and Mary.
The pair met while working on the Enigma decoding project, and they moved from place to place following Dane’s birth before settling in Dundee in 1949.
Dane attended two primary schools in Broughty Ferry before joining the High School of Dundee, where he stayed until 1965.
While at HSD, Dane took part in golf, cricket, and rugby. He made the school’s athletics team in 1963 and was captain of the fourth XV rugby team in 1964. Reports from the time say he filled the side with “a remarkable team spirit.”
During this time, John had been reading divinity as a mature student, and in 1960, he was ordained as a minister in Newtyle.
His father’s new line of work inspired Dane, and after school, he began studying to become a minister at St Andrews University, where he would soon meet his lifelong partner Rachel. He was made president of the Students Representative Council, using his position to oppose apartheid and successfully overturn a ban on cars for students.
After his time at university, Dane was sent to Genoa, Italy, where he worked as a minister for the Sailors’ Rest charity, giving support to those who visited the city’s busy port.
In 1976, he returned to Scotland and took up a new post in Fife’s Parish of Buckhaven. Dane then moved to Cadder, where he served another five years and completed his doctorate through Princeton University.
In 1998, he was given his final appointment to the parishes of Luss and Arrochar on stunning Loch Lomond. Dane served the community until 2013, when he retired.
He died peacefully in his home on 4 April 2024, aged 78. You can read more about his life here.
