'Inspirational' Inverness garage boss remembered
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A family man who built one of the most successful, award-winning car dealerships in Inverness has been described as a kind gentleman by those who knew him.
Terry Glendinning (81), who passed away after a fire at his home of 58 years, Dirr Cottage in Dores earlier this month, was an innovative, ground breaking car dealership owner – who is said to have put family, staff and community ahead of anything else he did.
Mr Glendinning was a loyal and dedicated husband to his wife Christine, who also worked in the business, a loving father to the couple's two children Tanya and Ross, then later a doting grandfather and great grandfather.
For many years he drove a BMW Seven Series until it became an automatic transition, and he moved to a five series. His colour of choice was Aegean Blue.
Daughter Tanya and son Ross run the Dores Inn at Dores, , along with Tanya's husband Adam.
Former colleagues said Mr Glendinning was the driving force behind the hugely successful Calterdon BMW car dealership in Inverness. He is described as always kind and respectful – but as someone who made working at the dealership an awful lot of fun.
Mr Glendinning set up the Calterdon BMW car dealership in 1971 when BMW was without many footholds in the UK. Calterdon was named after the three original owners – Callum MacAllister Hall, Terry Glendinning and Donald Mackay.
Described as "very much a people person" Mr Glendinning was in the business every day from Monday to Saturday, and while he was in the business of selling to a region as big as Belgium, he made the job for many a place that people wanted to work, and to buy cars from. He did not agree with late nights, or Sundays as he believed this cut into the family lives of staff, something he himself held dearly.
The business was described as a "community" by many of the former employees.
Ian Clark, who was the sales manager with the business, said: "Terry was first and foremost a family man. The people who worked for him in Inverness were like an extension of his own family. He looked out for us and cared about what was happening in our lives."
Staff describe two phrases he lived by, the first "all I expect from you is to treat others as you would like to be treated yourself" and "if you say you are going to do something, do it!". In business as well as in his relationships he said that if there was something that needed to be done to make someone happy, then it should be done.
Mr Glendinning put on an annual Christmas party for staff. It was always held in a good restaurant, on the last working day before Christmas, and Mr Glendinning always stayed until the end and picked up the bill for everyone who attended.
Staff describe the annual open day held at the end of June each year as "the best working day of the year". Instead of a selling event, Mr Glendinning invited customers old and new to the showroom and each year people would come and enjoy time together as a community of BMW vehicle owners. All staff, from valeters to managers were dressed in suits, and female staff in dresses to show that everyone in the business was important.
Mr Clark continued: "It was the end of an era when the business was sold around six years ago. Terry took as many current and old staff that could make it and we enjoyed a night at the Kingsmills Hotel. It was the end of an era – of its like we will never see again."
Outside of work Mr Glendinning was an avid reader, a keen motorcyclist and kept fit chopping wood. In earlier years Terry was a skilled rally driver, as was Christine. He competed in many Scottish and German rallies as well as the Monte Carlo where he was sponsored by Pirrelli and had a shelf of many trophies to show for it. The couple had an apartment in the Bavarian Alps, where Terry would enjoy climbing in the mountains. They also had a home in the Greek islands where they would enjoy many summer holidays
