Andy Murray’s grandfather has tragically died at the age of 94 as tributes flood in for the “popular figure in Dunblane”. Judy Murray’s father, Roy Erskine, passed away last week according to his former club Stirling Albion, who released a heartfelt tribute to him.
Retired optician Roy was a talented tennis player in his youth. He went on to play professional football as a full back for Hibernian, Stirling Albion and Cowdenbeath. A moving tribute from Albion said: “Everyone at Stirling Albion was saddened to learn of the passing of former player, Roy Erskine, on the 19th of January 2026.
“Roy joined Albion from Troon Juniors in August 1954 and played with the club for two seasons before leaving for Cowdenbeath in In recent years, Roy had been a regular with his daughter Judy at club hospitality where he enjoyed speaking with supporters and chatting about his time at the club.
“He was particularly pleased to help celebrate the club’s League 2 championship win in 2022-23. A well-known and popular figure in Dunblane where he spent many years as an Optician, he will be sorely missed,” reports the Daily Record.
Tributes flooded in across social media from all those who knew him. June Campbell said: “Lovely man. Both him and his wife Shirley were regulars at Andy and Jamie’s tennis matches. Always up for a good chat. He’ll be missed by many.”
Kelly-Marie Wilson continued: “Sad news indeed. Always a pleasure to sit and chat to him when he was there. Thoughts with all of the family.”
Linda Aitchison expressed her condolences, saying: “Oh I’m so sorry and sad to hear this. I loved our wee blethers. A lovely man. My thoughts are with Shirley and family.”
Ian Fleming also shared his sorrow: “Such sad news, fond memories of Roy from back when he was my optician.”
In 2024, following Andy Murray‘s retirement from tennis, The Record had a chat with Roy. The proud grandfather looked forward to spending more time with his famous grandson, his wife Kim, and their four great-grandchildren in Dunblane after Andy’s retirement.
Both Roy and his wife Shirley have been avid followers of Sir Andy Murray’s successful career for the past two decades. After Andy ended his illustrious career by bowing out in the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics in 2024, Roy shared his thoughts with us.
He said: “We have missed seeing both the boys because they have been so busy over the years. Hopefully Andy will have more time to come up and we will see a bit more of him.
“The final game wasn’t too emotional for us because it had been talked about for some time. We realised Andy was stopping after the Olympics. The family are all very proud of Andy and what he has achieved in that time.”