Kathleen Stevenson, a self-taught businesswoman who ran Dunnett jewellers in Montrose for 30 years, has died aged 86.
She was raising a family when her husband, James Auld, died suddenly in 1968.
Kathleen had to step into the business, which James had bought two years earlier and learn the trade from the ground up.
Her son, Steven, said that with some help from previous owner Sinclair Dunnett and visiting representatives, she soon became an expert in the jewellery business.
“It was a steep learning curve for sure but she succeeded. She was a woman in a man’s world. If someone tried to get the better of her, they would only do it once.”
Dunnett had its premises in High Street where Specsavers is now and the family lived above the shop.
Steven and his sister Jennifer recalled that their mother only ever held two sales during her time in business.
“The first time she tried a sale, people would not come in and buy because they thought there was something wrong with the goods because Dunnett was known for its quality.
“The only other time was the closing down sale in 1998,” said Jennifer.
Kathleen was born in Aberdeen in February 1936, the daughter of cattle merchant Charles Reid Smith and his wife May (Elliot).
The family lived in the Queen’s Road area and Kathleen attended St Margaret’s School for Girls.
She went on to study at the Dough School, the Domestic Science College, before taking up the position of head housekeeper at the Northern Hotel, Great Northern Road.
Marriage
Kathleen and her future husband, James Auld Marr, met at the dancing at the Beach Ballroom and they married in the city in 1961.
They set up home in the city then moved to Dunfermline in 1962 when James was appointed manager of the town’s H Samuel branch.
A further move to the Hamilton branch and two children followed before the family sought a more settled life closer to their roots and took over Dunnett in Montrose in 1966.
It was a long-established business and previous proprietor, Sinclair Dunnett, stayed on to help with the transition.
In 1976, Kathleen remarried to Andrew Stevenson, known as Stevie.
Dunnett was a traditional jeweller’s shop known for the quality of its goods. It had a clock repair section and and optician on the premises.
Steven said: “My mother was a housewife so when my father died in 1968, my mother became sole proprietor, although Sinclair Dunnett stayed on until the early to mid 1970s. She also had the help and advice of a staff member called Mrs Barclay.”
After the shop closed, Kathleen moved to live with Jennifer and her family in Memus and helped prepare meals at Jennifer’s nursery, News Friends, in Brechin.
Kathleen was an SWRI member in later life who enjoyed socialising with friends and had a passion for foreign travel.
You can read the family’s announcement here.
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