Edinburgh funeral director helps reunite widow with late husband’s rings

Edinburgh family grateful to funeral director

In a heart-warming reunion facilitated by family-owned funeral director William Purves, an Edinburgh widow has been reunited with her late husband’s rings. 

The story unfolded when a thoughtful car boot sale shopper discovered a William Purves branded jewellery pouch in a handbag she had purchased at a Sunday market in Errol, Perth and Kinross. The pouch contained two rings and an identity tag that had been stored within the bag sold to the unassuming shopper at the market earlier this year. Conscious they might hold personal significance and value, the shopper reached out to William Purves’ Broughty Ferry branch, eager to reunite the rings with their rightful owner. 

Keen to help solve the mystery and put things right, William Purves embarked on a mission to trace the person named on the jewellery pouch - an Edinburgh man who had previously been under the funeral director’s care, Davy Edgar. 

The jewellery, which had originally been returned to Davy's widow Margaret Edgar on the day of the funeral, had then inadvertently been left in her handbag following a period of illness and was later sent along with other items to be sold at the car boot sale. 

When contacted, compassionate William Purves funeral director Colin Brown swiftly collected the rings from the Dundee branch, before personally delivering them to the grateful Edgar family in Edinburgh.

A grateful Margaret Edgar at home in Edinburgh with the returned rings.

Colin Brown said: “As soon as we learnt of the rings’ existence, we contacted a representative of the family to find out what had happened and how we could assist in reuniting these belongings with their loved ones.

“Personal items of the deceased, such as jewellery, can be incredibly meaningful to those in grief. That’s why we strive to hand deliver such belongings to the family at the funeral or as close to it as possible.

“In this case, it was an honour to reconcile the items with the family once again. Our thanks go to the thoughtful shopper who notified us of the rings.”

Callum Anderson, a friend and representative of the family, added: “We are very thankful to William Purves for alerting us to the location of Davy’s jewellery and for personally delivering his items to us. Without their help, we may not have realised the rings were missing.

"We were pleased to be able to give these valued belongings to Margaret again as they hold more sentimental value than anything else.”