After a long and highly public battle with cancer, Mr Thompson passed away in the early hours of this morning, with his family at his bedside (write Grant Smith and Stefan Morkis).

Despite his illness, Eddie, who was 67, continued to work eight-hour days at Tannadice after being given the news he had cancer over five years ago.

A prominent Scottish businessman, he made his fortune through the convenience store chain Morning, Noon and Night.

But it is his ties with Dundee United for which he will be best remembered.

Born in Glasgow in 1940, Mr Thompson trained as an accountant and worked for a catering firm in the city.

When it was bought by Dundee-based wholesalers Watson & Phillip in 1964, he transferred to the City of Discovery.

Three years later he became the company’s operations manager and, eventually, general manager. He was appointed to the Watson & Philip Board in 1976, becoming joint managing director.

In the 1980s he was instrumental in arranging Dundee United’s first-ever shirt sponsorship deal with Watson & Phillip’s retail arm VG.

Mr Thompson left the company after a boardroom split in 1991 aged 50 and decided to start up his own business.

Despite a downturn in the convenience store sector, he was able to convince investment fund 3i to back his plans for Morning, Noon and Night.

The first store opened in Bieldside in Aberdeen in June 1991 and the business soon grew. By the end of its first year, sales had passed the £4 million mark.

MN&N was one of the first retail outlets to install Bank ATMs, now a common sight in the retail trade.

In August 2004, MN&N was sold to Scotmid in one of the largest Scottish retail deals for some years.

At the time MN&N was generating yearly sales of £53m with operating profits of £1.8m from 50 outlets and employed some 800 people throughout Scotland.

Mr Thompson's expertise had already been recognised in the industry, being appointed as the first Chairman of the Scottish Retail Consortium in April 1999, and serving on the British Retail Consortium's Board of Management.

He was President of the Scottish Grocers' Federation and sat on the CBI Council for Scotland. He was awarded the Scottish Grocery Lifetime Achievement award in 2003.

Mr Thompson was outspoken on the need for government to pay attention to the needs of small retailers, often criticising the high crime rates that businesses suffered and the economic impact of alcohol and tobacco bootlegging.

His services to the industry were recognised with an OBE in 2005.

Had it not been for the onset of prostate cancer, though, Mr Thompson would probably have remained at the helm. His illness was a key factor in his decision to sell the chain.

Despite these business achievements, Eddie Thompson will always be best known for his love of Dundee United.

By the time Mr Thompson had been chairman and majority shareholder of the club for two years, fulfilling a long-held dream of running the club.

He first started supporting the Club on moving to Dundee and his time at Watson & Philip resulted in the VG shirt sponsorship in the late 1980s. He was always keen to provide the Club with the benefit of his business knowledge and contacts and was a founder member of the Dundee United Business Club.

In September 2002, Mr Thompson acquired a shareholding in Dundee United by purchasing the shares of former Chairman Jim McLean. By the end of that month he had acquired a majority shareholding and became owner and Chairman of Dundee United FC.

True to his word, one of the first initiatives approved by Mr Thompson was the issue of new shares to supporters who wished to make individual purchases. He also assisted the establishment of ArabTRUST, the Dundee United Supporters Trust, for collective share ownership by fans. Outwith the Thompson family, ArabTRUST is now the second largest shareholder in Dundee United.

Since then Eddie Thompson has invested millions of pounds of his own money into the Club and has seen losses reduced from record levels of £2.7m in June 2003, to £498k in June 2007 and turned into an operating profit by June 2008. Never slow to admit when mistakes had been made, he also personally funded exceptional termination costs when required to do so.

His fierce loyalty and financial commitment to Dundee United won him much admiration throughout the Scottish game and he was seen as a "champion" of the smaller clubs on the SPL Board, upon which he served from its inception.

He continued to work undaunted at Tannadice during the years of his illness, although radiotherapy and advanced hormone treatment were unable to prevent the cancer becoming more aggressive and spreading to his bones.

He was genuinely moved when one of the stands at Tannadice was named after him earlier this year, following suggestions made by supporters and also when thousands of United fans wore "One Eddie Thompson" tee shirts at this year's CIS Cup Final.

Earlier this year Mr Thompson ensured that Dundee United would remain a family business by appointing his wife Cath to the board and making their son Stephen chief executive while manager Craig Levein was made director of football in addition to his managerial responsibilities.

Despite his financial and personal commitment to the Club, he always saw himself as a supporter first and foremost and was always first to acknowledge that the fans were the true owners and most important part of the Club.

He was quoted as saying, “You can change your wife, your house, your car, but you can never change your team. Chairmen come and go, Boards come and go, but the fans remain.

“They are the one true constant. I've just been a custodian of the Club.”

Although Eddie Thompson has passed away, his legacy at the club will live on.

He is survived by his wife Cath, children Justine and Stephen and four grandchildren.

Dundee United fans were quick to leave tributes to Eddie at Tannadice this morning.

Scarves, strips, flowers and even a teddy bear had been left by mourning fans on a fence by the main entrance to Tannadice.

There were also Eddie Thomson T-shirts left – printed for Dundee United’s CIS cup final clash with Rangers last season – and even a Dundee scarf pinned up in memory of Mr Thompson by a fan of United’s biggest rivals.