Son Walks Out of Dad’s Funeral Amid Disrespect Over Family Feud

Jimmy Calderwood’s son, Scott, walked out of the funeral. He said this was due to disrespect amid a family feud. Jimmy, the ex-Aberdeen manager, died last month at 69 years old. In 2017, doctors diagnosed him with early onset dementia.

Jimmy Calderwood was born in Glasgow. His funeral service was held there on Tuesday, where former players and managers came to say goodbye. The service occurred at Shiedhall and Drumoyne United Free Church. Then, Scott walked out during the crematorium service in Cardonald due to a disagreement with Jimmy’s partner, Yvonne Buchanan.

Scott, 46, spoke to the Daily Record about the situation. He said his mother did not attend because Scott felt his family was treated with disrespect. Scott, who previously managed Ross County’s assistants, stated the service barely mentioned his family, adding that issues with Yvonne grew worse during his dad’s illness.

Scott said they couldn’t stand the disrespect because his dad wouldn’t have tolerated it, and he couldn’t either. He clarified it was about the disrespect toward all of his family, not just his mum. Scott felt they tried to erase his family and felt like a stranger at his own dad’s funeral.

Scott said there were security guards to keep the family apart, something he knew his dad would not have wanted. He thought it disregarded his dad’s wishes, so he had enough and walked out, joined by some family members. He now wants to grieve for his dad.

Managers Stuart Keetlewell, Sandy Clark, and Jimmy Nicholl attended and paid their respects at the church service. Russell Anderson and Stewart Milne also attended, as did Richard Foster, Barry Nicholson, Michael Paton, Darren Young, Derek Young, and Lee Miller. They were at the church after the cortege passed Ibrox.

Calderwood managed several Scottish teams, including Aberdeen, Dunfermline, Kilmarnock, and Ross County. He also managed teams in the Netherlands, namely Willem II Tiliburg, NEC Nijmegen, Go Ahead Eagles, and De Graafschap.

Calderwood’s time at Aberdeen had mixed results. In 2007-08, they had a great UEFA Cup run. They defeated Dnipro and famously drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich, a match well-remembered by Dons fans.

After being diagnosed in 2017, Jimmy went public to raise awareness; he talked about struggling with dementia but coming to terms with it. He felt he had a good life and wanted to help others by speaking about his experience. Yvonne Buchanan declined to comment.