THE family of former magistrate and president of Newton Rotary Club, Wilfrid Edwin Jones, who has died aged 80, have paid tribute to their father's many achievements both in business and to the local community.

Wilfrid was educated at Newton Grammar School and then joined the St Helens firm, Gornall, Wainwright and Co. where he trained to be a quantity surveyor.

After the war, which saw him posted to North Africa and the Mediterranean with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), he remained with the North Road company until his retirement in 1980 at the age of 60 as a senior partner.

Wilfrid was also a member of Haydock Park Golf Club, Newton Rotary Club, Newton Bridge Club, the Wigan group of Masonic Lodges and Chapters, Newton PROBUS and other charities. He served as a magistrate in St Helens for 20 years and was appointed president of Newton Rotary Club in 1979, the same year his wife, Kathleen served as president of the Inner Wheel group. He was also captain of Haydock Park Golf Club in 1973.

Wilfrid's wife, Kathleen died in 1998 and the couple had one son, Allan, and two grandsons.

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