Frank McIver (23 Nov 1948 - 20 Sep 2025)

In loving memory of Francis Joseph McIver “Frank” who sadly passed away on the 20th of September 2025 after a long, hard fought battle with cancer.

Born in London, he was the youngest of three siblings. It wasn’t long before the family had moved back to Scotland, settling for a time in a Gallowgate tenement, in the east end of Glasgow.

Frank grew up as a city kid (his words) and often regaled us with stories of hopping on and off the city trams visiting older relatives, or exploring the Necropolis, or Barralands with friends.

Having passed his 11 plus exam, he was educated at prominent Catholic schools: St Mungo's Academy in Glasgow, run by Marist Brothers, and when the family moved back down south again, The Campion School in Hornchurch, run by Jesuits.

The family came to settle in Southend-On-Sea, where Frank was to meet his wife-to-be, Janet and they soon welcomed their first son.

With a particular interest in History, Frank started to train as a teacher, but decided the addition of students made teaching a far less appealing prospect to him. He also joined the Police Force, completing his training at Eynsham Hall, and went on to serve as a PC in the Bedfordshire Constabulary. However, having welcomed their second son by then, it was felt his time was better spent with his young family and he settled into commuting to the City of London, where he became very knowledgeable and well respected in the marine insurance industry. For a time he worked weekends too, with a strong sense of duty to provide well for his family and, to some extent, a determination to put his impoverished childhood in Glasgow behind him.

In latter life he would talk with great pride for his roots in Glasgow and how he and his family had managed to lift themselves out of poverty. He never looked down on his past, rather with astonishment at how far they'd all managed to come, given such humble beginnings.

In his 40's, Frank concentrated on his two (slightly wayward) teenage sons. It’s no secret that both boys got into all kinds of trouble and Frank drew on the support of those around him and saw them through numerous and varied scraps, scrapes and escapades. The compassion and strength of character instilled by his Jesuit education was thoroughly put to the test and it proved to serve him and the boys very well.

A lifelong love affair with foreign travel saw Frank visit and tour Australia among other countries and then after retirement he spent a number of years living in southern Spain, perfecting his grasp of Spanglish and enjoying the local delicacies.

Over the years his family grew and he graduated seamlessly into the role of doting Grandad to his 3 (and eventually 4) Grandchildren - Danielle, Liam, Jordan and young Oliver. Attending Nativity plays, and carrol concerts, Grandad was often to be found in the audience, proudly giving his love and support.

His door was always open if we needed an ear, or a wise word. Sharp witted humour, some extremely suspect cooking, or simply a coffee and a chat were the order of the day for a man that often gave so willingly of himself, yet asked for little in return.

His love of history, particularly the World Wars and even details of specific leaders’ strategies, along with a good grasp of politics (both historical and current) and an interest in and a good understanding of most subjects, made him our go-to fountain of knowledge and he very much enjoyed imparting that knowledge onto any unsuspecting audience.

His integrity, strong moral code and trustworthiness, along with his ability to play devil's advocate and a knack for offering an honest opinion with kindness, but without sugarcoating it, made him a confidante to many over the years, especially his sons and grandchildren.

In later life, and to his utter consternation, he was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive blood cancer. After a very close brush with death in June 2020, he decided that dying just wasn’t for him; not quite yet anyway. He wasn't at all ready to go anywhere for the time being. So, with years of chemotherapy, he pushed through the pain and sickness and insisted his ailing body give him a few extra years, which as a family, we are incredibly grateful for. Then, when the disease made a resurgence this year, he proceeded to fight it with everything he had left. Sadly it became clear this time it was an unwinnable fight and in the end he accepted his fate courageously and passed away peacefully with family by his side, in the full knowledge of how much we loved and respected him.

Rest in Peace Frank / Dad / Grandad.
You live on through your family and we will not forget you.