Staff at Morrisons at the Gyle in the west of Edinburgh downed their tools and lined the aisles of the store to honour the life of one of their butchers in a fitting tribute.
Peter Owens Gilbertson, of Durar Drive, passed away at age 65, on June 23, 2022 at the Western General Hospital.
Those who knew him, including his son Darren, have said that he was the most caring, loving, and humorous individual, who was also “a big family man.”
READ MORE: Edinburgh Zoo vulture escapes during visitor event and hides out in hospital tree
His family and friends gathered together on Thursday to pay their respects and to say goodbye to one of Clermiston's most fun-loving sons after his sudden death.
At the time of Peter’s funeral, his former colleagues lined the aisles of Morrisons to pay their respects to “a true gentleman” - bringing the store to a standstill.
During the eulogy, stories of the prankster, father and avid Hibee, were shared by his wife Linda, whom he met as a young teen, as well as his two sons Scott and Darren, daughter Lyndsey and three grandchildren.
Friends reminisced about a man who was always ready to partake in a practical joke, whether it was scaring his wife in the bath or leaving buckets of water at the feet of his colleagues, Ian and Mikey, when they worked together as window cleaners at ‘Select.’
During the eulogy, Celebrant Jacky McKinney, said: “There were endless opportunities for pranks like putting a bucket of water at the foot of the ladder for someone to step in when they were coming down.
“Peter had been caught out himself on one occasion and tried to get his own back on Ian and Mikey; he’d seen them go up and across the roof they were working at, put the bucket down and stood back to watch and laugh, only for the two of them to come up behind him to ask what he was doing?
“Peter couldn’t believe it and asked, ‘so who’s that then’? – just as his gaffer Chris came down the ladder and stepped in the bucket!
“We can only imagine the rollocking that he got!”
But Peter did not keep his antics solely for his pals and would often pull the leg of his beloved wife Linda.
On one occasion, “he told her that she needed to be on the lookout as there was a weird man wearing a blue hat hanging around the neighbourhood and in the back greens.”
Peter, who became neighbours with Linda on Hoseason Gardens when he was 15, then climbed up to their bathroom window and stuck his head through whilst wearing a blue hat and gave Linda the fright of her life whilst she was in the bath.
Their marriage was celebrated as a fairytale on October 18 1975 at St Andrew’s Church in Clermiston, with the two falling in love as young birds and remaining committed to each other for almost 50 years.
His middle child, Darren, remembered fondly a story about his father when he had gone fishing with his brother-in-law and a few friends.
He said: “My dad loved to go fishing and I remember Ian telling me about a time when they were all out on a boat with my uncle, Andy and Mikey and their pal Tony.
“He had a Walkman that he liked to listen to as he fished. One day, he got it all set up but couldn’t get any sound out of it.
“He changed the batteries, then moved them around and still nothing!
“He ended up banging it in frustration trying to get it to work and the movement caused his ear plugs to fall out.
“When he put them back in, he found that the Walkman was working.
“But it turned out that all along he'd been trying to listen to it through the toggles on his jacket!
“He was just about to throw it in the sea, and my mum said if he was listening to Daniel O’Donnell, that would have been the place for it.”
Peter was not a man for school - having attended Clermiston Primary, Craigroyston and Craigmount High Schools - he often joked it was something to be “endured.”
As a young man he was an avid Bay City Rollers and Alvin Stardust fan - later having to be talked out of naming their first child Alvin by wife Linda.
He was known for being a member of the ‘Clerrie Jungle’ gang and would often take the bus to Burdiehouse to fight rival groups of youths.
Peter was said to have never been without a “rollie in his mouth” and liked a punt on the horses as well as a game of darts with friends.
He started his working life as a butcher working with his father, Willie, at the family shop at Bilston, but later took a break for a few decades before returning as a butcher at Morrisons, where he worked up until his death and was a well loved part of the team.
On paying tribute to his life, a spokesperson for Morrisons said: “Peter was a valued member of the team at Gyle and a true gentleman.
“He was very well liked amongst customers and colleagues and will be missed dearly by all at Morrisons."
READ MORE:
Mum divides parents over whether summer school holidays should be shorter
Inside jaw-dropping East Lothian mansion with wine cellar and sunbathing terrace
Huge new Edinburgh development gets go ahead for 134 plush new family homes
Edinburgh weather: Capital set for thunderstorm after UK heatwave
Edinburgh bypass drivers face delays as skip lorry gets stuck under bridge
