Such is the strength of his faith that Jack’s express wish was that his funeral, which took place on Friday, April 11 at St Eunan’s RC Church, should not be a sad occasion but instead a joyous celebration of his 85 years. As such the family’s hymn choices were influenced by Jack’s insistence that only happy and uplifting hymns should be sung at his requiem mass.

Jack, affectionately known as wee Jackie, was born on February 26, 1929, and was brought up in Laurel Avenue in Mountblow, Clydebank. He served on the alter at St Stephen’s and was a pupil of St Patrick’s in Dumbarton. He lived through the Clydebank Blitz and was evacuated to relatives in Dumbarton after the McAllister family home was badly damaged after two nights of bombing.

In 1947 he moved with his mother to a new built property in Mossgiel Drive across from where St Eunan’s Church now stands. He was part of the group, the founding members responsible for the church we see today and was part of the original choir.

On leaving school Jack started working in Singers factory. Eventually rising to the position of a manger in the needle work division.

In its hey day, Singers was a hot bed of political activity just like the Clydebank ship yards. There Jack was exposed to socialism and trade unionism. He became an active local politician holding elected office in Old Dumbarton County Council, the Old Clydebank Burgh Council and eventually Clydebank District Council.

He won and lost elections during 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s and during this time held every office at council level. He was part of an influential group of local politicians who travelled to Westminster in the early 70s to convince the then Conservative government that Clydebank should continue to exist with its own distinct identity and council rather than being swallowed up into the larger neighbouring Glasgow City.

Jack was incredibly proud to hold the post of the last ever Provost of Clydebank District Council between 1994 and 1996. He was then awarded the great distinction of being the first Honorary Freeman of the new West Dunbartonshire Council.

Jack, however, always regarded his greatest honour to be receiving his papal knighthood in 1997 from Cardinal Winning and he really didn’t need any excuse to find a reason to proudly wear his papal medal on his lapel.

Jack married Phyllis Robertson in 1971 at St Eunan’s church. Phyllis was a Baptist but apparently the then parish priest Father Manion found it very difficult to refuse Jack when he insisted that the marriage would take place in his beloved St Eunan’s parish.

Phyllis was a young socialist part of the ban the bomb movement and widely regarded by the old guard of the local labour party to be a troublemaker. In fact one of the couple’s first encounters was when Jack was forced to have her ejected from a local Clydebank branch meeting which he was trying to chair and he couldn’t get her to stay quiet.

Shortly after that they were engaged after Jack proposed on Scot’s night at the Labour Party Conference in Blackpool in 1970. With them that evening was their life long friend Jack Tasker.

Jack and Phyllis had both sons Stephen and Douglas christened in St Eunan’s church and both became alter servers for many years following in their father’s footsteps and to Jack’s great delight and pride his two older grandsons Tom and Peter are now alter servers at St Mary’s church in Duntocher.

Jack was very proud of the fact that his sons Stephen and Douglas became the first generation of their family to be educated at university. Jack had retired by then and would drop the boys off every morning at the gates of Glasgow University. He always instilled in them a great sense of self belief, to never lack confidence in their own worth and ability and that they were as good as anyone else irrespective of wealth, privilege or background.

Jack taught his family that his Christianity and politics were one and the same. That caring for your new neighbours, your fellow man about the living and working conditions of your fellow Bankies was your duty or calling in life.

He believed that by the strength of our common endeavour that we achieve more than we achieve alone so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and live together freely in the spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect.

Jack died peacefully at home on April 6. He is survived by his beloved wife Phyllis, sons Stephen and Douglas and grandchildren Tom, Peter, Neve and Ewan.