A BELOVED butcher from Fintona had a "tremendous work ethic" and "genuine greeting and smile" for everyone he met, mourners have heard.

The sudden passing of Eric Deazley earlier this month sent shockwaves through the local community, and large numbers gathered to pay their final respects at Donacavey Parish Church on Friday, April 12.

As a butcher in Fintona town centre, Mr. Deazley was a well-known and much-respected figure within the area.

Fr. Jim Moore, who had become a close friend of Mr. Deazley during his time in the parish, paid a special tribute to him.

"He [Mr. Deazley] was someone I considered one of my best friends," he said. "The crowds here today give a testament to the high regard he was held by all those who ever met him.

"He was a gentleman to his fingertips, and he was so well-suited to his work. He always had a genuine greeting and a smile, and everyone he met each day was important. He treated every single individual with respect."

Fr. Moore then told of how, when he came to his former parish of Fintona more than 20 years ago, Mr. Deazley immediately extended a warm welcome.

"I first had a conversation with him shortly after I came to the parish," he said. "As we finished up talking, he informed me of his plan to open a butcher shop in the town.

"I wished him the best of luck in his new venture, and he enquired if I had any plans for Sunday dinner. I had, and then he said, 'As long as we are having dinner in our house, your name will always be in the pot'.

"This was the beginning of a friendship I have appreciated and cherished."

Fr. Moore said Mr. Deazley's warm and welcoming nature also helped him succeed in business, and he quickly developed a sound reputation as a local butcher.

He ran the local business alongside help from his wife, Margo, who later branched out into an equally successful cafe in the West Tyrone town. 

"When he opened the shop, his work ethic was incredible," Fr. Moore said. "He would accept nothing less than perfection, and for this reason, he would have customers coming from all over to buy their beef, lamb, pork and poultry.

"He set a standard for himself that most wouldn't have realised, and on one occasion, a Food Standards inspection found that his burgers were the best quality that they had examined in some time, if not ever.

"His attitude was that you never lived off your reputation; you kept working and improving in as many ways as you could."

Fr. Moore added that the late butcher's love for his work was surpassed only by a love for his family, whom he "would have done anything at all for".

"Work was where he earned his living, but home was where he did his living," Fr. Moore said, adding that Mr. Deazley also had a great appreciation for Liverpool FC.

He was a beloved husband of Margo and a loving father of Jamie, Nathan, Rayna, Kaylem, Nathan Dean and Danielle; son of James and the late Mabel; and brother of Norman, Gordon, Shelia, Raymond and Noel.