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Tributes to Dundee Boomerang Centre founder Neil Ellis after sudden death

Neil Ellis outside the Boomerang Centre.

Tributes have been paid to Dundee charity stalwart Neil Ellis, who died on Sunday aged 66.

Neil, of Arbroath, founded the Boomerang charity in 1999 and was involved in voluntary work for more than 30 years in Dundee, mainly in Stobswell.

Step-daughter Paula McLaren said today her family’s wishes were that the activities carried out at the Boomerang Centre, which have operated from Kemback Street since 2015, be continued.

Neil Ellis died unexpectedly, aged 66.

The centre provides learning and leisure activities to locals “with an aim of providing a cohesive and fulfilled community”.

Activities include parent and toddlers clubs, youth groups, exercise and wellbeing classes, lunch clubs, elderly befriending and volunteering.

‘Devastated’

Paula, daughter of Neil’s wife Linda, said: “Obviously this has been a shock to us all. Neil was really well-known from Boomerang and has done a lot of charity work over the years in Dundee.

“We’re devastated with his passing and we hope the staff and the work at Boomerang can continue, as his legacy.

“He put more than 30 years into his charity work. It wasn’t a job – that was his life.

“He always did lunch clubs, computer courses. All through lockdown he was delivering food parcels. He had a toddler group, a club for men’s mental health. He sourced all the funding himself.

“He did so much himself.”

Neil at the Boomerang Centre.

Paula said Neil had passed away “unexpectedly” but did not go into further detail.

As well as Linda and Paula, Neil leaves behind granddaughters Nicole and Georgie.

On the Stobswell Forum Facebook page, a tribute read: “Like everyone, we are shocked at the news of the passing of Neil Ellis and everyone at the forum would like to pass on our condolences to Neil’s family and friends.

“Others will write more eloquently about Neil and the fantastic things he did for our community but for the moment we’d just like to say that we’ll miss him because he was our pal and there is now a huge gap in our lives.”

On Facebook, Evening Telegraph columnist Ewan Gurr wrote: “What a lovely chap. I remember meeting Neil well over a decade ago when I first encountered the Boomerang Project.

“We caught up with each other last year to reminisce about the early days of the work. Sad to hear of his passing.

‘An incredible stalwart’

“What an incredible stalwart for the Stobbie.”

Neil regularly dressed up for good causes, donning costumes including a schoolgirl, minion, superhero, teddy bear and pirate to raise charity funds.

In an interview earlier this year, he said: “I have been working here so long that Stobswell feels like my second home.

“It’s been good seeing the changes over the past 30 years. Stobswell went down and now it’s coming up again.”