Founder of family-run food shop Barry Boyce dies at 83

The founder of a family-run independent supermarket in Wolverhampton, popular with thousands of shoppers across the city, has died.

Barry Boyce, who established Daisy Fresh and Essential in Compton, was aged 83. The Bridgnorth Road shop started life in the early 1970s as MB&A Boyce, a traditional supermarket.

Mr Boyce ran the shop with his wife Audrey.

It became Daisy Freezer Centre in 1976, making the most of the frozen food boom, before evolving into Daisy Fresh and Essential in 2008, offering fresh cheese, meat, fruit and vegetables.

Mr Boyce's son Mike, aged 53, now owns the store and his grandsons Jason, 23, and Daniel, 21, also work there.

Barry and Audrey, now 81, met when they both worked in Woolworths in Halifax, West Yorkshire. His role as manager took him all over the country before the couple settled in Wolverhampton in 1966. Their last together was in Tettenhall.

Mrs Boyce said: "Barry worked at Woolworths in Bilston and Nuneaton but he always wanted to be his own boss.

"He loved the retail business and meeting the customers. He prided himself on good customer service, it was something that was very important to him.

"He was very hard-working and the Daisy was more than just a job to him. He never stopped thinking about it and our son Mike is just the same now. Barry never really retired, he used to pop in almost every day."

Mr Boyce died on January 9 – the day before his 84th birthday – after a short illness. His funeral will take place on January 25 at the East Chapel of Bushbury Crematorium at 10.45am. The funeral procession will stop at Daisy Fresh and Essential on the way.

Mr and Mrs Boyce also have a daughter Maggie, aged 55, another grandchild Leanne, 31, and two great-grandchildren 12-year-old Lachlan and Ruby, three.