The day McGurk ‘sacked’ his wife from the business

Ever heard the one about the husband who “sacked” his wife from their business?

Mrs McGurk, who was married to Tom for 42 years, served as a director of the business and would occasionally help out in the shops.

Sheremembers:“One time a young lad walked into the shop with his mam and looked up at a pair of boots on a shelf costing £80. His mam told him they could only afford to buy a cheaper pair for £25 and he wasn’t happyaboutit.Ithentold him not to be cheeky to his mam as I was a mam andIknewwhereshewas coming from.

“After they went out without buying either, Tom said to me ‘don’t you realise that they’ll just go to another shop and buy the most expensive pair of boots elsewhere?’.

“‘I’d rather have them buy the £80 boots here rather than around the cornerandatleastIcould getthemtopayperweek’. HetoldmeIwassackedso I got my coat and told him I was going home.”

The couple survived the “crisis” and enjoyed lengthy holidays in Florida during their retirement with Tom becoming an avid golfer.

While his family are happy that he lived a full life almost to the end even planning a cruise while fighting his recent illness - he very nearly did not survive the Second World War. Stepson James recalls: “He used to talk about how a merchant ship had caught fire and they had to get it out of a harbour.

“So they sailed out in this tug when there was a sudden blast from the ship. Tom suffered spinal injuries and the man next to him was killed.”