Esther Lees Roberts

Esther joined jogscotland in November 2006 as a beginner.  She took part in many events including the Dublin half marathon and Aviemore half marathon in 2007 and the Great Wilderness challenge in 2008.  She jogged regularly twice a week with the Muir of Ord jogscotland group.  We all miss her dreadfully.  She became such a good friend.Jogging was a new challenge in 2006 but all her life Esther had been a dancer. During the past twelve years she taught at feisan and workshops and was instrumental in setting up the Hielan’ Toe step dance group with whom she danced abroad, at Eden Court, Strathspey Away in Kingussie, Inverness Day of Dance, Inverness Games and many, many fund-raising ceilidhs throughout the Highlands.  We have lots of happy memories of all the fun times together.

With her husband Selwyn, she cycled both locally and in Europe. They not only shared a love of cycling and the great outdoors, but also of music. Esther played the clarsach and the fiddle. The Roberts household hosted many an impromptu ceilidh. Selwyn’s band, Reel Din, has played for over 20 years at the ceilidh in the evening after each Great Wilderness Challenge, raising money for the Dundonnel Mountain Rescue Team. Although tired after her efforts in running the GWC in August 2008, Esther was still able to demonstrate several of the ceilidh dances that evening.

Born and educated in Aberdeen, she graduated with a law degree, worked in Aberdeen, before coming to the Highlands, first of all to work in the legal department of SEPA, then as Procurator Fiscal Depute in the Inverness office.

Over 30 of us, from the Muir of Ord jogscotland group, from the Hielan’ Toe dancing group, from the Fiscal’s office where she worked and from her family, took part in the 13 mile Great Wilderness Challenge in August 2009 in her memory.  She knew of our plans before she died and we felt she was with us in spirit, all 13 miles of it. Between the 30 of us, we raised a total of over £13,000 for Highland Hospice where Esther and her family were cared for so well.

In the autumn of 2009, a few members of our group, helped by Esther’s family, planted daffodils in Spittal Wood as a lasting memory of the many times we jogged through the wood in her company.