Tributes paid to Caithness countryside ranger
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Belgian national Dieter Tuerlinckx was a well-known face as one of two countryside rangers in the east of Caithness.
He passed away last Thursday night/Friday morning with a suspected heart problem at the home he made for his family in Broubster. He is survived by his partner Kune and two children – seven-year-old daughter Arden and his son Frodi, who was born just last month.
Dieter’s colleague and close friend Marina Swanson, who job-shared with him as Caithness east ranger for the past five years, paid tribute yesterday.
“We had known him for quite some time now and he will always be in our thoughts,” she said. “We all just can’t quite believe this has happened.”
Marina said the countryside ranger – believed to have been around 38-years-old – had an outgoing and uplifting personality that instantly connected with people.
“He was great with people from the tiniest child to the older generation,” she said.
“He was a great communicator and could get on with every kind of person but especially children who all loved him. He could really go down to their level and explain things at a fun level that they could grasp and understand.”
It is understood Dieter previously lived in Aberdeenshire before moving to the county with his family some years ago.
Marina said he was very much a family man at heart – even more so having just welcomed his and his partner’s new young son into the world at the end of November.
He was also a passionate outdoors enthusiast, having previously written for the John O’Groat Journal about his love of nature and of Caithness.
In April 2009 he spoke of feeling “at home” in the heart of the county.
“Caithness was a surprise to me,” he wrote. “Like so many folk, I always thought it would be quite boring and flat here. Nothing could be further from the truth. When I climb one of our tiny hills, the views I get are unsurpassed by many others in the Highlands. They give me a sense of freedom I haven’t found anywhere else and, although you’re never really high up, I feel truly on top of the world.”
The love of the outdoors made him a perfect candidate for the job of countryside ranger where he could put his enthusiasm to good use – leading others on nature and wildlife walks, setting up new conservation initiatives and being a voice for the local authority’s plans for many countryside ventures.
Working with Marina out of the Bruce Buildings in Wick’s Sinclair Terrace, she explained he had shown a creative streak to the activities the Highland Council countryside rangers put on over the last five years, as well as providing valued help and support to his colleagues.
He was a vocal supporter of Highland Council’s many outdoors initiatives and made many friends during his time here. He was often seen photographed with his distinctive short beard and beaming smile – almost always outdoors in the fresh Caithness air.
Marina added that many people had been e-mailing her since word of his passing had spread – many saying how devastated they are with the loss of such a well-respected and loved local figure who had come to be a valued part of the community.
Other relatives are understood to have come to Scotland from Belgium this week.
Arrangements were not known when the Groat went to press yesterday but it is expected that some form of service will be held locally to celebrate Dieter’s life.
