Armley community comes together for special tribute to 'one in a million' shopkeeper in Leeds
Hundreds of people in a Leeds community came out to pay their respects in a moving tribute to a local shopkeeper.
Mohammed Shakeel Saddique, known locally as ‘Shak’, worked at the Best-one store and Post Office on Tong Road in Armley for 30 years and became widely known in the community as “one of the nicest gentlemen you could ever wish to meet”.
Residents gathered outside of the store this afternoon (Thursday) to pay their respects and show how loved Shak was to his family, who were also in attendance.
A prayer was said before dozens of balloons were let off to the sound of cheers, clapping and honking horns. You can watch the moving moment in the video above.
Shak died on Sunday (July 21) aged 47 after being taken to hospital two weeks prior. His sister, Nina Saddique, said he was “young, fit, healthy and with no medical conditions” and so the news had come as a huge shock to the community. He leaves behind a wife and three children.
His sister said: “As a brother he was my counsel. He was my guiding light. Words can’t describe how good of a brother he was.”
Shak began working at the Post Office 30 years ago with his father before taking over the store in later years. He became known for his bubbly persona and ability to listen to and help customers.
Nina said: “He never turned anyone down whether they were family, friends or a customer. He didn’t see them as customers - he saw them as human beings.”
She said that Shak would always be keen to help and would offer to carry the shopping home for the elderly who visited the store.
Things weren’t always so rosy though. Nina explained: “When we established the business 30 years ago in 1994 we had our fair share of racism and Islamophobic abuse. But because of the way my dad and Shack were they managed to turn that hate into love.
“You can see how powerful that is by how many people have come out today.”
Among the crowds of people present many expressed how big of an impact Shak had on the community and how he knew just about everyone who passed through the shop.
George Shore, who had been coming into the store for the last 10 years, said: “He was one of the nicest gentlemen you could ever wish to meet. He was one in a million. He was so honest and well mannered and had time for everybody.”
Claire McQuade and Elisha Hazelgrave both said they could remember Shak from going into the store when they were younger and that he had got to know their children in recent years.
“He’s seen everybody grow up”, said Claire. “He knew everyone’s family tree.”
Elisha said: “The amount of people here just shows how respected he was. He’s touched a lot of people. If you were down he would always cheer you up.”
Shak’s sister Nina was also blown away by the number of people present. She said: “The fact he was so humble and he never really liked too much attention - if he knew this was happening he would be overwhelmed with emotions. He was a regular humble guy but has left a big impression.”