Fan in a million...club’s farewell to lotto winner
LOTTERY winner ColinWeir made a final visit to his favourite football team as his funeral cortege stopped outside Partick Thistle’s ground.
The procession paused at Firhill Stadium in Glasgow before continuing on to the funeral service.
Players and staff lined up to pay tribute as the hearse stopped at the football ground yesterday morning.
A banner with a picture of MrWeir was on display at the stadium entrance with “Colin Weir, one of our own” written in club colours.
Mr Weir and his then-wife Chris, from Largs in North Ayrshire, claimed a £161million EuroMillions jackpot in July 2011, the highest amount handed out in the UK at the time.A life-long
Partick Thistle fan, he invested part of his winnings in the club, leading to the youth set-up being rebranded the Thistle Weir Youth Academy and a section of the stadium being named the ColinWeir Stand.
Patriot
The former TV cameraman, who died last month aged 71, secured a majority shareholding at the club in November and promised to give the 55 per cent shareholding directly to a fans’ group.
The club, chaired by lifelong fan Jacqui Low, dedicated a recent win to him following his death, with players wearing black armbands and fans holding a minute’s applause. A statement on the club website said: “A Scottish patriot, philanthropist and Jags man to the end. Sadly missed.”
After stopping at Firhill at 10.30am yesterday, the cortege continued to the funeral service in Partick Burgh Hall, followed by a private cremation.
Senior figures in the SNP were among mourners at the funeral.
TheWeirs donated £1million to the Yes campaign ahead of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and continued making donations to the SNP afterwards.
Last year theWeirs confirmed they would divorce after being married for 38 years.