Dedicated community man John Dawkes of Bishops Tachbrook died last week.
The 81-year-old former naval officer died of renal failure and pneumonia at Warwick Hospital on January 15.
Born and bred in Leamington, he studied at Bath Place School and won a number of medals for his achievements in Leamington football tournam
ents.
He joined the Navy just after the war and travelled to Malta on HMS St Brides Bay, working as the ship's electrician.
Mr Dawkes was a despatch manager at manufacturing company Warwick Production before moving to Bishops Tachbrook in 1979, where he worked at Dawkes and Company Newsagent in Wychwood Close for 33 years.
His son Adrian said: "He was somebody who always did things for other people - he used to get up every day and mark up the newspapers with the names and addresses of where they had to be delivered so the delivery boys and girls didn't have to do it. That was his ethos - if there was a job to be done he would make sure it was done properly.
"He was still doing that in his 70s - he must have sold 3.5 million newspapers in his lifetime."
A familiar face to most Bishops Tachbrook villagers, Mr Dawkes also played bowls for South Warwickshire and was a champion at Whitnash Bowling Club.
Phillis Mancini, 72, is entertainment secretary at Bishops Tachbrook Sports and Social club and knew Mr Dawkes for more than 40 years.
She said: "He used to come here every Sunday night and play dominoes and have a pint.
"He was very witty and had a very dry sense of humour - he would get straight to the point.
"You would always be laughing in his company."
Mr Dawkes' wife Sylvia died in 1981. He leaves behind his daughter Charlotte, 40, and sons Anthony, 56, Michael, 54, Graham, 49, Adrian, 45 and Martyn, 42.
His funeral is at St Chad's church in Bishops Tachbrook on January 30 at 11am.
The full article contains 334 words and appears in Leamington Courier newspaper.
