FOUNDER of The Mace Stores on Winsley Road in Bradford on Avon, George Stone died peacefully at home on the morning of July 7, aged 84.

Mr Stone was born in Trowbridge on November 30, 1930 and prided himself as being a Wiltshire-born and bred man.

At the young age of 10, he moved to Holt with his parents, later attending Hilperton Primary school as his father was on reserve, being one of the first soldiers to go to war.

Once Mr George was of school leaving age, he worked at numerous local businesses including a mattress factory as well as market gardeners on Horse Road, Hilperton.

It was throughout his younger years that his love of gardening grew and it was from this that led him to buy Sunnyside Nurseries on Winsley Road in Bradford on Avon at the tender age of 18.

After running the business for just a year, Mr Stone found another love of his life in the form of his wife Joan.

The couple met in 1949 and after four long years of courting, their love blossomed eventually marrying in September, 1953 at Trinity Church in Trowbridge.

After the couple wed, they spent a year with Mr Stone’s parents in Holt and later moved to Bradford on Avon to be closer to the nursery.

It was also during this time that they went on their first ever holiday to Jersey.

Mrs Stone said: “We had some wonderful times together.

“The nursery was very popular back in those days and we used to grow fresh vegetables and various other things which we sold locally as well as at markets in Bristol and Birmingham.”

As the business started to grow, Mr Stone decided to expand the range of produce on display, eventually building the 3,000sqft Mace Store which is where the Co-op stands today.

Mrs Stone said: “We ended up building the shop after people, who worked for Spencer Moulton, would walk past and ask George why he didn’t sell cigarettes or newspapers. After that we started to sell more and more produce.”

Although an independent retailer, the shop used the name Mace as it was the name of the nationwide purchasing partner for the couple which acted like a franchise.

After a few years, the couple had their children Elaine in 1958, Debra a year later, their son Andrew in 1963 and their youngest daughter Rachel in 1965 who said: “Even though it broke dad’s heart, he still encouraged us all to follow our dreams even if it meant moving away from home.

“Growing up as a kid, we all felt blessed because both our parents were always there. You would leave in the morning with them there and come home to find them to greet you.”

As part of their relationship with the nationwide company, Mr Stone would often attend conferences and won many trips from Mace which allowed him to see the world – something he thought he would never be able to do.

He visited countries including USA, Thailand, Barbados and the Bahamas but despite his jet-setting ways, he always wanted to return to his beloved shop and family.

Over the years, the shop continued to grow and was extended twice to make more room for the family to sell more produce including its own butchery ran by Mr Stone’s son Andrew and it slowly became renowned for its meat.

At the age of 70, he promised his family he would retire but sticking to his stubborn ways, Mr Stone carried on in the shop for a further nine years but eventually had to close the shop doors for one last time due to ill health in 2009.

Mrs Stone said: “We were Mace from the start right to the very end when we closed up shop.”

Other than his shop, Mr Stone was very active in other groups in the town and was a founding member of the Bradford on Avon Rugby Club in 1982.

He also dedicated his time to charitable work and sponsored two of his paperboys to attend a sports academy run by the national chain of Mace stores. Mr Stone was also involved in the Neem Tree Trust – charity which helped disabled children in India.

Mr Stone leaves his wife Joan, four children Elaine, Debra, Andrew and their partners Jim, Bryan, Jane and John, grandchildren William, Lewis, Rebecca and Sam and great grandchildren Kitto, Jago and Logan.

His funeral will take place at Christ Church, Bradford on Avon on Monday, July 20 at 1pm. Mr Stone’s family will proceed to Semington Crematorium.

Family flowers only. Donations to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Society LLS. Cheques made payable to LLS Light the Night Walk (Team Grad) to be collected at service.