Coventry's original bookmaker has died at the age of 84, leaving behind him many happy punters and a reputation as a great gentleman.
John O'Neill, whose friends always called him Jack, opened the first ever bookmakers in Coventry after betting shops became legal in 1961, the Coventry Telegraph reports.
After starting out with one shop in Queen Victoria Road, he eventually tripled the O'Neills empire, adding another shop in Broadgate and a third in Whitefriars Street.
But his widow, 69-year-old Eileen said it was not always easy. "The first few months it snowed and rained so all the races were cancelled and he didn't earn a shilling," she recalled. "Most of the gambling trade then was racing and since he had always been into horses he loved it."
When Eileen met Jack, she already had four children, which he took on "like they were his own", said his widow. Later, the family expanded, and the couple had six grandchildren.
Sadly, in the last three years of his life, Jack suffered from dementia had to be cared for in a home. Eileen said: "He kept his sense of humour until the end and was always helping out the staff at the home."
She said in remembrance: "Everybody knew Jack and he was very popular because he was so kind and such a character. He was a real gentleman."
Coventry's original bookmaker has died at the age of 84, leaving behind him many happy punters and a reputation as a great gentleman.