Sholom Harold “Doc” Friedman, the beloved owner of one of Arlington’s last independent shoe stores until it closed up shop in early 2016, died Oct. 6. He was 86.

Friedman, a podiatrist by training, ran Public Shoe Store at 3137 Wilson Blvd. until the age of 82, when his deteriorating eyesight forced him to shut it down.

“It’s not the business chasing me out. My eyes are chasing me out,” Friedman, who worked in the store his father founded in 1938 for the better part of 50 years, told the WBJ in 2015, noting at the time that his loyal base of customers seeking comfort and orthopedic shoes from the likes of Stride Rite and Clarks kept his business going.

Friedman, who attended podiatry school at his father’s request, was known for the “perfect fit,” often inserting special padding into shoes to get them just right. For years, he commuted all of three blocks to the store from his home in Lyon Village — those last several years on a motorized scooter.

And as for customers…