Kelloholm Postmaster Henderson Shaw, who has loyally served his village for nearly 60 years has sadly passed away with his funeral well attended by his community.
The 83-year-old loved serving his community and did not want to retire as he loved being there for his village. His customers were like friends to him, say his family.
Daughters, Jane Knox and Catherine Nivison, said: “We used to suggest that maybe Dad should think about retiring, and he would look at us like we were mad. He would react ‘Why would I want to do that? I really enjoy seeing my customers and chatting to them.’
“Dad would say that he still enjoyed serving his customers as much now as when he first took on Kelloholm Post Office. This was a view that he held until the end.
“Last month he had been happily serving customers, until the day he didn’t feel very well, so didn’t open the post office. That just wasn’t like Dad as he never was off work, so we knew that something wasn’t right, and went to visit. A customer also sent a get well card on that first day as it was so out of character.
“Dad was admitted to hospital and the doctors suggested that maybe he should retire or slow down. Dad’s response was ‘Maybe I will think about it when I have reached my 60th anniversary as postmaster in February. Sadly, he died just a couple of days later. Our family and the village were in shock as he had been so well and still driving. He used to drive to see us in Renfrewshire most weekends so that he could be with his larger family.
“Dad really did like to work. He’s definitely passed his great work ethic on to his family – we all work hard.”
On 2 February 1966, Henderson took on Kelloholm Post Office at his Mother’s shop which sold gifts, cards and homeware. Mary Shaw focussed on the retail side and Henderson concentrated on the Post Office. Later his Father, Andrew, retired from his normal job and also came to work at the shop as he too preferred to work.
In recent years, Henderson ran the Post Office and shop alone, and it is temporarily closed. The nearest alternative Post Office branches are Kirkconnel and Sanquhar.
The funeral of Henderson Shaw was held on Friday 31 October and it was well attended with family, friends, customers and local postmen.
Post Office Regional Manager, Craig Black, attended the funeral. He commented: “I want to pay tribute to Kelloholm Postmaster, Henderson Shaw, who really cared about the community that he served. He was at the heart of this village for very nearly 60 years, which is incredible. He really enjoyed his work which is very heartening. His customers held Henderson in very high regard, and they used to love their chats with him.
“My Area Manager, Christine Boyle, spoke to Henderson the day before he went into hospital and he was on fine form and so we too were surprised to hear of his sad death. We want to sincerely thank Henderson for all that he did for his community for very close to six decades.”