“A genuine hero within our community” and “a great man who commanded respect but didn’t expect it” is how Walter Smith has been remembered locally.
Yesterday (Wednesday) the funeral of the Scottish football legend was held, eight days after the former Dumbarton player, Rangers and Scotland manager sadly passed away, aged 73.
And Smith, who stayed in Helensburgh, has been remembered by many who knew and loved him.
Rev Ian Miller of Lomond Parish Church got to know the Smith family as he took the reins at Ibrox in the early 90s and the minister married both his sons, Neil and Steven.
He fondly remembered the man who he described as “the guy next door”.
Ian told the Lennox Herald: “I have realised what an incredible manager he was and how he was able to motivate people.
“There was something quite unique about him. He had an aura. He commanded respect but didn’t expect it.
“He exacted integrity and honesty and decency and common humanity.
“The thing that I used to admire so intensely, if at a Burns Supper or a sportsman’s dinner, people would be round him like bees round the honey pot. He never once seemed to get irritated and I found that really quite astonishing.
“Here was a guy at the top of his profession, an icon in Scotland and yet he had time for people. That to my mind was quite wonderful.”
And those thoughts were echoed by Craig Holborn of Ardencaple FC where Smith had been a devoted dad watching his sons play, grandad watching his grandsons kick a ball for the club and, more recently, honorary president.
He said: “Walter was so generous with his time and whenever he attended Caple events he would always go that extra mile to accommodate requests from our players and their families.
“A scheduled short appearance to present medals and awards could easily take hours as players’ mums, dads, grans and grandpas would all queue up to meet him, have their photos taken, and have him autograph old match tickets or other memorabilia.
“Walter was very active in his support of Caple’s fundraising schemes; taking the final penalty when the club set a new Guinness World Record, and along with wife Ethel he always attended Caple’s annual Goals and Glamour Dinners.”
Smith enjoyed a long relationship with the local club culminating with him fulfilling the position of honorary president with Craig describing it as “a role that he took very seriously and into which he invested considerable effort”.
He added: “We have lost a truly great man; a legend in the world of football irrespective of what team you support, a genuine hero within our local community and, more importantly, a wonderful person.”
The club passed on condolences, thoughts and prayers to his family and all Caple matches began with a minute’s silence at the weekend before kick off in his memory.
Dumbarton legend Murdo MacLeod was one of the first to pay tribute to his “dear friend” as the news broke last Tuesday.
Posting on Twitter, he said: “So sad to hear the passing of Walter Smith. A Gentleman and a dear friend. Thoughts are with Ethel and all the family. RIP Walter.”
Smith led Rangers to nine-in-a-row in the 1990s, winning a total of 10 top-flight titles as manager, five Scottish Cups and six League Cups, as well as leading the club, founded by Helensburgh’s Moses McNeil, to the UEFA Cup final in 2008.
Smith also played with Dumbarton, gracing the Sons shirt for 64 games. He was part of the squad who reached the 1976 Scottish Cup semi-final.
The Castle Road club said in a statement: “It is with very deep sadness that we have learned that our former player Walter Smith has passed away.
“The thoughts of everybody at Dumbarton FC are with Walter’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.”
One of Smith’s last public appearances was at a charity golf day in September at Loch Lomond where he joined Sir Alex Ferguson, Alan Shearer, Kenny Dalglish as well as former Celtic boss and player Neil Lennon among others in aid of the Emmie Smillie Charity Foundation.
Rev Miller recalled how he first became friends with the Smiths in the early 90s.
The Celtic fan told the Lennox Herald: “My first interaction with the Smith family was on a treadmill in Cameron House where somebody was winding me up about my Celtic affiliation and giving me pelters.
“At one point I had been asked for my thoughts on Graeme Souness who had just left Rangers and they were pretty derogatory.
“Then this individual to my left said to me, ‘and what do you think of the present manager?’ and I said ‘he’s a really decent guy, completely different. I do kind of like him’.
“A voice from my right side said ‘I am so glad, that’s my husband’.
“Not for the first time, I had nearly put my foot in it.”
The voice to his right was Walter’s wife Ethel who Ian described as “an absolute darling”.
A quite hilarious quote from Smith on the front of the minister’s autobiography “Habbie to Jeely-Eater”, reads “One of my favourite Celtic supporters”.
And the minister forged a close bond with the family over the years, marrying both his sons and enjoying spending time in their company.
Ian added: “I really got to know the Smiths and really they are just a lovely couple, a lovely family.
“He just was such a decent fellow.
“I don’t imagine there is a single person in Helensburgh who hasn’t had some passing comment with him at some point, and all favourable. He was actually a pretty humble guy and he shouldn’t have been, I think folk find that endearing.”
A special memorial is taking place on Friday, November 19 at Glasgow Cathedral.
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