He was the man they called Mr Dundee United.
Eddie Thompson built up the Dundee-based convenience store chain Morning, Noon & Night into a group with 30 stores, 500 employees and a £24 million turnover.
He was determined to invest some of his fortune in his beloved United.
Thompson became majority shareholder at Tannadice in 2002 and set about changing the club’s fortunes after eight years spent largely in the doldrums.
He did.
Through all this time, Thompson was receiving treatment for prostate cancer that had seeped into his bones at the end of 2006.
A tenacious figure to the end, Thompson attended games in a wheelchair during the latter stages of his illness, in defiance of his ailing health.
The unanimously popular chairman died on October 15 2008 at the age of 67.
He died just days after his son-in-law Ken was killed in a motorcycle accident.
It was a cruel twist.
The double tragedy left the Thompson family devastated.
Emotional atmosphere at Tannadice
The great and the good of Scottish football and business, along with hundreds of Tannadice fans came together in grief during the funeral service in Broughty Ferry.
Craig Levein’s side returned to competitive action against St Mirren at Tannadice on October 25 2008 following a week of mourning, with admission prices cut to £5.
United reduced admission so as many fans as possible could pay tribute to Thompson.
The response was overwhelming.
For this was a time when the home fans went that extra mile to mark the passing of one of their own and more than 11,000 supporters packed the ground.
Some of Thompson’s favourite songs were played before kick-off, including The Beatles and Rod Stewart, which ensured an emotional atmosphere inside the ground.
Staff and players stood with heads bowed, some trying to fight back tears, during the minute’s silence: a testament to how much Eddie Thompson meant to the Dundee United family.
United fan Keith Whelan was asked to be the flag-bearer by United as a thank-you in honour of his long vigil outside the Broughty Ferry church that hosted the funeral.
There was an atmosphere befitting a European glory night so cherished by United fans of a certain age with “One Eddie Thompson” being chanted throughout.
United started the game on fire, with Craig Conway sending over dangerous balls from both flanks, and forced an astonishing seven corners in the first seven minutes.
Conway and Darren Dods forced good saves from St Mirren goalkeeper Mark Howard.
The visitors almost took the lead on 24 minutes through Hugh Murray, who met a Dennis Wyness cross with a volley that was superbly saved by Lukasz Zaluska.
And after the break the Buddies held their own for most of the action.
Indeed, just seven minutes into the second half, Zaluska had again to be on top form, this time to deny Billy Mehmet.
Dods hit the bar from another Conway corner and his misery was complete when he suffered a gashed forehead in a clash with Wyness and was replaced by Garry Kenneth.
With a goalless draw looking on the cards Roy O’Donovan, on loan from Sunderland, grabbed his first goal in tangerine on 85 minutes via a deflected cross.
And, with time running out, Conway added a superb second.
United pressed forward on the counter-attack and the winger cleverly used Sandaza and O’Donovan as decoys before blasting an unstoppable shot past Howard.
Until that quick-fire double it had looked like a case of what might have been.
Manager Craig Levein admitted he was emotionally and physically drained following the victory but was satisfied he and his players had done Thompson proud.
“The whole day just mattered so much,” he said.
“I would have felt that I would have let the chairman down if we hadn’t won.
“It is stupid, I know, but that is how I felt.
“The fans were great all day.
I think Eddie was looking down on us when we got that first goal and I am delighted.”
Dundee United defender Garry Kenneth
“They were here to pay their respects to the chairman and it wouldn’t have quite sat right if we hadn’t given them the victory.
“They deserved it, as they have had a difficult week as well.
“It is different, altogether, from any other win.
“This will never happen again.
“God forbid I will be in this position again.”
Levein said there was “an element of closure” following the 2-0 win.
“There has been a wave of emotion that continued with the funeral and into the game.
“The victory kind of just makes it all right.
“I can put it to the back of my mind.
“Since the chairman’s death it has been the only thing I have been thinking about.
“I made a deal with myself that if we won I would lighten up a bit.”
Defender Garry Kenneth said Levein fought back tears in the dressing room after the game, which “shows you how close the gaffer and the chairman were”.
“But he has been a tower of strength throughout for us, as has big Lee Wilkie, who has shown why he is the captain of the team,” said Kenneth.
“This has united us even more at the club, especially the players.
“I think Eddie was looking down on us when we got that first goal and I am delighted.”
Eddie Thompson ‘would have been very proud’
That so many made a determined effort for the St Mirren match to celebrate Thompson’s life, though, warmed the heart on a chilly October afternoon.
And his wife Cath expressed her gratitude in a letter to the Evening Telegraph.
“My family and I convey our sincere thanks for all the kind and moving messages of support and sympathy following the deaths of my husband and son-in-law in recent weeks.
“I’d like to personally thank everyone who has taken time to send their condolences to myself, Stephen and Justine and to those who paid such a wonderful tribute to Eddie at the entrance to Tannadice, at the funeral service and at the game against St Mirren on Saturday.
“We have been overwhelmed with the number of messages of support and sympathy and it will be impossible for us to respond to each individual card or letter.
“However, we want everyone to know we are both grateful and comforted by the kind thoughts and wishes expressed.
“We also thank everyone who donated so generously to ward 32 at Ninewells Hospital, where my husband received such wonderful care.
“My husband worked very hard to make Dundee United a community club and last week he would have been very proud of the way the Dundee United community reacted.”
There truly will only ever be one Eddie Thompson.