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JEROME (JERRY) STOUT 1909 - 2005
 The
Isle's oldest inhabitant, Jerome Stout of Leogh, died peacefully in his
own home, as
he wished, on Friday 16th September. Known always as Jerry,
he was born at Taft
where he lived until he married Agnes (Aggie) Wilson of
Springfield in 1942. They set
up home in Lower Leogh taking over the
shop previously run by his late uncle, Tom Wilson. They lived there
together until the sad death of Aggie in the spring of 1993. He was a
crew-member of the Good Shepherd from 1938 and later was skipper till
his retirement in 1974.
Like his
contemporaries, Jerry was keen on all crofting, hunting and
fishing activities.
A good shot with the 12 Bore - no woodcock was safe within range,
neither was a young selkie safe, no matter how precarious the location.
A pioneer of the lobster
fishing here, he
fished first with brother, Sandy, in the 20's and 30's, then in the 60's
and 70's with Tommy Stout and finally, with Midway Jimmy, as keen
retired
gentlemen. On the croft front, theirs was a tidy, well-run unit always
vying for top
price for their stock.
 Jerry ran the haulage
on Fair Isle from the war time until the mid 1960's. He then later,
for two
years,
took his lorry out of retirement to help my father keep the show on the
road before I came to Fair Isle with a truck in 1969. He was a keen
supporter of the
Kirk. Although his beliefs were private to himself his
contributions to the Kirk remain
for others to see - for sacrament, for music and for beauty and  memory
of his wife.
So has ended a long
life; a life not without controversy and a life not without great
sadness
as well, and at the end, fully dependant on the care and love of his
carers and
the
nurse. However, all in all, his was the life
of the optimist the cup half full rather
than half empty a Life lived to
the full and run to
the
fullness
of time.
J.W.S.
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It's amazing to remember that when
we came to Fair Isle in 1974, though Jerry was well into his 60s
he and Aggie were still so active - and had the patience -
to take two newcomers to the Isle 'under their wing' and teach
us the art of crofting!
With Lower Leogh the first croft to
have running water, the first with electricity, the first with a
tractor - to list a few of his 'firsts', Jerry was indeed a
progressive man and enthusiastically offered us his assistance
and advice as we made out early steps in crofting. Although he
would sometimes remark with a shake of his head and a wry grin
... "It's never been done before" ... usually after some
early enterprise of ours had met with failure!
May I offer these few photographs,
taken in the early 1970s, as a tribute to a remarkable man.
Thank you Jerry ... and Aggie.
D. & J.M.W.
Jerry and (Myres) Jimmy
stooking oats by Hesswalls |
Jerry building a 'skroo' of
oats at Field |
Gutting fish off Kubbi Skerry |
Aggie and Jerry - in
contemplative mood. Tea break while hay-making Bull's Park |
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