One of Bermuda’s top bridge players also served recently as president of the Ocean View Golf Club in Devonshire.

Alan Douglas’s love of tennis and golf made him a sporting all-rounder whose skill as a fisherman provided a side income for many years.

But his aptitude for card games, and bridge in particular, led him to represent the island in tournaments overseas in France, Italy, Costa Rica and China.

His family said his skill at bridge was such that Mr Douglas could accurately surmise the cards in his opponent’s hand.

He was a former president of the Bermuda Bridge Club.

Mr Douglas, who grew up in Somerset, was a past master of the Somers Isle Lodge.

He attended Southampton Glebe Primary School followed by The Berkeley Institute on a scholarship.

Mr Douglas attended college in Canada and majored in computer science with the support of the Bank of Bermuda, where he worked when he returned home.

Mr Douglas’s mechanical skills enabled him to work alongside his father, Henry, repairing lawnmowers.

He was a diehard supporter of Somerset Cricket Club, with Pembroke Hamilton Club as his local and Manchester United as his English Premier League football club.

However, bridge was his favourite pastime.

David Ezekiel, of the Bermuda Bridge Club, told The Royal Gazette: “He was probably the best home-grown bridge player that Bermuda has produced and he represented Bermuda on numerous occasions.

“I travelled with him to play on the Bermuda team multiple times. He played a big part in building the bridge club.”

Mr Ezekiel added: “Alan was a godsend, very strong technically, and his greatest strength was his ability to keep on an even keel when things were not going well.

“He was a very popular figure at the club and in his later years he started teaching, playing professionally with people who wanted to learn more about the game.

“It’s a massive loss and on a personal side my history with Alan goes back way beyond bridge. He was a very good friend and colleague — he ran the Upstairs Golf and Tennis Shop, which I owned.”

A prime golfing store, the business opened in 1985 on Church Street in Hamilton. Mr Douglas took over as manager in 1989.

It was popular with visitors and the shop kept ahead of online retail by stocking the newest equipment.

Mr Douglas’s knowledge of the accessories as well as the game, along with his love of interacting with customers, drew a dedicated clientele despite the shop lacking a street-level storefront.

But it closed its doors in 2016, hitting hard times with the economic recession of 2008 that also lost Bermuda many of the guest workers who had shopped there.

Mr Douglas was hired as a professional bridge player to join teams in competitions in his later years and gave back to the community by teaching the game to students at Warwick Academy and The Berkeley Institute.

He had two children with his first wife, Dorothy Christina Smith: the late Maurice and Marchelle.

Mr Douglas married Ruby Gibbons in 1973.

The couple remained together for 40 years and Mr Douglas was father to her children, Keitha, the late Deananna, Russell and Daymound.

• Alan Sylvester Douglas, a master bridge player, was born on March 11, 1945. He died on July 12, 2023, aged 78