She made her fortune after rising from humble beginnings to found the What Every Woman Wants retail chain.
asserted
Woman → make → chain
But Vera Weisfeld was forever touched by the disappearance of schoolgirl Moira Anderson in her home town of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.
And it can now be revealed that the Scots business queen left a £6 million estate that included a five-figure legacy to a charity named after the missing youngster.
asserted
that → touch → youngster
Mrs Weisfeld passed away aged 87 in December last year.
asserted
Weisfeld → pass → December
Her husband Gerald predeceased her in 2020 after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
asserted
husband → predecease → disease
Legal papers show she left an estate valued at £6,016,611, and gifted £100,000 to six family members, including grandchildren and step-grandsons, as well as the same sum to Alzheimer Scotland.
asserted
she → show → Scotland
But she also bequeathed legacies understood to be worth up to £60,000 to the Moira Anderson Foundation, Radio Clyde’s Cash for Kids, and Monklands Women’s Aid.
asserted
she → bequeath → Kids
Moira disappeared aged 11 in 1957, when Mrs Weisfeld was 19.
asserted
Weisfeld → disappear → 1957
She has never been found.
asserted
She → find → ?
Convicted paedophile Alexander Gartshore was suspected of her murder and prosecutors said that if he was still alive he would have been charged.
asserted
he → convict → murder
Vera Weisfeld was known for being the founder of the What Every Woman Wants retail chain
Police forensics officers search a canal for Moira Anderson in 2017, 60 years after her disappearance
Schoolgirl Moira Anderson was 11 when she disappeared
The Moira Anderson Foundation was launched in 2000 by Gartshore’s daughter, Sandra Brown, as a legacy to Moira and her family, offering support to children and adults affected by sexual abuse in childhood.
asserted
Foundation → know → childhood
Moira left her grandmother’s house during a heavy snowstorm but never returned.
asserted
Moira → leave → snowstorm
The schoolgirl boarded a bus driven by Gartshore, who was later jailed for raping a 17-year-old babysitter.
asserted
who → board → babysitter
In 2013, a police search focused on the theory that he may have buried her in Monkland Cemetery but an excavation found nothing.
uncertain
excavation → focus → nothing
Four years later, a further search was made near Monkland Canal but no remains were discovered.
asserted
remains → make → Canal
Ms Brown said: ‘We’re overwhelmed by Vera’s thoughtfulness.
asserted
We → say → thoughtfulness
She never forgot her roots and said that Moira vanishing forever stood out in her memories of Coatbridge.
asserted
vanishing → forget → Coatbridge
‘She was a keen supporter from the word go and generously covered our first three years of rent until the foundation got established.
asserted
foundation → go → rent
This wonderful endowment comes as we prepare to mark the 70th anniversary of Moira’s disappearance on February 23.
asserted
we → come → February
‘Knowing how needed our work is, this remarkable lady supported us right to the end of her life.’
asserted
lady → know → life
Mrs Weisfeld was born in 1938 in a basement flat in Coatbridge which had no electricity or inside toilet.
asserted
which → bear → electricity
She opened What Every Woman Wants with Gerald in Glasgow in 1971 before expanding across the UK to a chain of 130 stores.
asserted
Woman → open → stores
Her mansion home in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, was valued at £2.5 million and has been gifted to one of her granddaughters, along with ballgowns, jewellery, handbags and shoes.
asserted
home → value → ballgowns
Another granddaughter based in America is to receive her Halcyon Days boxes and a portrait of Gerald by artist Anne Mackintosh.
asserted
granddaughter → base → Mackintosh
Papers revealed Mrs Weisfeld’s private registration plate V1 ERA is worth £10,500 while another reading V1 VGW is worth £1,500.
asserted
reading → reveal → ?
Her total moveable estate in Scotland was valued at £3,265,686, with the heritable estate totalling £2,750,000.
asserted
estate → value → 2,750,000
The Weisfelds sold their business in 1990 for £50 million, believed to be the highest amount ever paid for a Scottish fashion house.
asserted
Weisfelds → sell → house
The couple founded the Weisfeld Foundation and donated millions to good causes.
asserted
couple → found → causes
The Aporia
