A well-known and popular Aberdeenshire farming personality with a wide range of interests, including breeding Highland ponies and Aberdeen-Angus cattle, Mrs Elizabeth (Liz) McCombie, has died at the age of 88.

Born in Wick on October 16, 1934, Mrs McCombie was the daughter of local doctor, Robert McCrae, and his wife, Rhoda, whose family (Sinclair) owned the Wick auction mart, which sparked her interest in farming, spending much of her free time helping her uncle, Ben Sinclair, at the mart.

From Wick High School, she went to Aberdeen University, where she graduated with a BSc in agriculture in 1956 and met her late husband, Charles, while on practical placement at Little Daugh Farm, Ruthven, Huntly, close to the McCombie family farm of Auchincrieve, Rothiemay.

The first nine years of their marriage was spent at Guise of Tough, Alford, before moving to Auchincrieve on the death of Charles’ father, Captain Charles McCombie, in 1966.

Mrs McCombie took a keen interest in the family’s farming enterprise throughout her life. She was hands-on lambing shepherd at Auchincrieve for more than 35 years and purchased the Aberdeen-Angus heifer, Ashley Edwina, in the 1990s.

This proved the the turning point in the re-establishment of the dwindling Auchincrieve Aberdeen-Angus herd which has since enjoyed considerable success in the show ring and at the Perth/Stirling bull sales. Blood-lines from Edwina are still in the herd today.

She also had an abiding interest in the breeding and showing of Highland ponies and in recent times bred Gersa of Auchincrieve, mother of Cairns Fergus, which has qualified for the working pony category at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) at Olympia for the last nine years, being placed fourth last year, and the only Highland pony ever to have qualified for this category at the show.

The last foal bred by her, Douglas of Auchincrieve, is now three years of age and a registered stallion with the Highland Pony Society, with a string of show successes, including champion Mountain and Moorland at the Garstang and Aintree shows last year, successes which brought Liz great pleasure.

A larger than life personality and well-known throughout the communities she was associated with, Mrs McCombie was also a passionate owner of West Highland terriers, a keen gardener, excellent cook and home-maker and turned her hand to many artistic skills, including knitting, watercolour painting, spinning and upholstery.

As an active member of the local community, she was involved in many charitable and fund-raising events in her younger years and was founding chair of the Huntly Flower Club which ran for over 50 years.

She was also district commissioner of the Deveron and District branch of the Pony Club in the 1990s, hosting a pony club camp at Auchincrieve in 1995. Following the death of her husband in 2005, she was appointed an honorary vice-president of the North-east Aberdeen-Angus Club. She was also a former director of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society, organisers of the Royal Highland Show.

With her husband’s failing health, they moved to the neighbouring farm of Cairnhill in 2003 and following her husband’s death, lived very independently, maintaining a keen interest in farming developments and rural affairs right up to the time of her death at the end of January.

Mrs McCombie is survived by her three children, Charles, who continues to farm at Auchincrieve; Rhoda and Louise; daughter-in-law, Gillian, four grandchildren and one great grand-daughter.