In memory of Kevin Thorburn

It is with great sadness that Aberdeen Cyrenians can confirm that our dearest colleague, Kevin Thorburn, passed away on Tuesday 23rd April 2024.

Our thoughts are with Kevin’s family and friends at this difficult time.

Kevin was naturally joyful and compassionate, with an eternally positive outlook on life.

Seeing each service user as an individual person, Kevin had a natural intuition for understanding people and supporting them to understand themselves. Fiercely advocating on their behalf, he questioned processes in the best interests of people, and showed our services users that they had someone on their side. This is something many had not felt for a long time.

Kevin had a loving firmness and an ability to empower service users without them knowing. He engaged in activities and then eased himself away, having instilled confidence, working with them to grow and become involved in their communities at a pace comfortable for them.

Setting their own agenda, and enabling them to reach their desired outcome, Kevin provided nothing but encouragement along the way.

Kevin always volunteered his time to work around the needs of our service users, ensuring they could attend activities outside of standard support times. He worked tirelessly to make sure that no-one was left without support.

Both Kevin and his creative alter-ego, Cherry Bakewell, tirelessly fundraised for Aberdeen Cyrenians, reaching the final of the 2022 Celebrate Aberdeen Awards as ‘Staff Member of the Year’, a proud moment for the charity, Kevin’s family, and friends.

Kevin truly embodied everything Aberdeen Cyrenians stands for. He was a shining light within our Aberdeen Cyrenians family and touched the hearts of everyone he came into contact with, he will be deeply missed by everyone.