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Inverness community mourns as 'true gentleman' passes away


By Louise Glen

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Edward 'Eddie' Davidson who has passed away.
Edward 'Eddie' Davidson who has passed away.

A kind and cheery shopkeeper who was a much-loved figure in an Inverness community has died following a short illness.

Edward ‘Eddie’ Davidson, who owned Eddie’s Shop, a mini market in Benula Road, died on Christmas Eve at Raigmore Hospital after suffering with pneumonia.

He was 83 and had owned and worked in the Merkinch shop for the past 47 years, aided by his wife Maureen and for the past 30 years by his son Gary.

Gary, who has kept the shop open during the current Covid restrictions, as his dad would have wanted, said: “My dad ran the shop for 47 years and over that time he saw many changes.

“Dad was brought up in Merkinch and the Ferry, and he loved serving the community that he felt so much a part of.”

Mr Davidson’s family say they have been comforted by the number of kind words, cards and flowers they have received, as well as the sharing of positive memories of the shop over the five decades which he served the community.

Gary (55), who was working in the shop the day his dad died, said people had described Eddie as a “gentleman” who was well liked.

He added: “When he first took over the shop, we lived across the road and it wasn’t until around 40 years ago that we moved to Balloch.

“My dad loved the shop and his job, and he was always telling us funny stories.

“He genuinely cared about the people in Merkinch and the Ferry, and he wanted to make sure that he served people well which, judging by the number of cards and flowers we’ve been sent, we know he did.

“While there are only 20 people allowed at the funeral, many people have told us that they would like to make a donation to charity in dad’s name so we have chosen Cheerful Chesters, run by Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland for people with lung and heart conditions.

“My dad really enjoyed attending the group.”

In an eerie coincidence, Gary revealed the otherwise reliable shop till developed a fault the day his dad died.

“The day of my dad’s death I was working in the shop,” he said. “My dad has had a till that he has used for more than 30 years – and it gave up. It stopped working and started spitting out end-of-day reports for no apparent reason. We had to stop using it.

“About an hour later I got the news that my dad had gone. Very strange indeed after it had worked for all those years without a problem.”

Gary thanked everyone on behalf of his mum Maureen and his brother Martin, for all the kindness shown to the family since their loss.

Inverness Central councillor Emma Roddick said: “Eddie was a true gentleman who served locals around Benula Road for decades.

“I have many memories of his kind and cheery presence going back to when I was a teenager visiting his shop, and I’m very sorry to hear this sad news.

“My thoughts are with his family and friends at what must be a very difficult time.”

Mr Davidson’s funeral will be held at 12.30pm tomorrow and will be live streamed for those who are not able to attend. The service can be found at www.williamtfraserandson.co.uk


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