Tribute has been paid to Ron James, a sports fan devoted to helping others, who has died, aged 93.
A committed Christian Ron, from Upton Priory, touched many lives as chairman of the Macclesfield Council of Voluntary Services and the founder of the Community Car Club, a charity which offered transport to the elderly and disabled.
As well as playing various sports throughout his life, Ron was a football referee and managed the ‘Stags’ team at Macclesfield Rugby Club.
Ron died on April 13 and his funeral will take place at Broken Cross Methodist Church on Tuesday, May 3 at 12.15pm.
Paying tribute Ron’s daughter Helen said: “We were always very proud of dad. It wasn’t that he had a lot of surplus time or money or was motivated by personal tragedy, he did it all to fulfil his faith. Helping other people made him tick.”
Born in Salford Ron had a tough start to his life when his dad died of flu when he was just four.
He followed his father’s footsteps by starting work on the railways.
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During the Second World War he served in the Royal Engineers in Malta and Italy.
Helen said Ron didn’t speak of the war until recently.
She said: “Dad said the best day of his life was when he handed back his army rifle. He had some tough experiences during the war including losing his best friend.
“It was actually his love of sport that got him into and out of trouble.
“During a football game on his base he ran into some barbed wire. While getting treated in the first aid hut dad mentioned he had first aid training. A senior commander, looking for orderlies for a tanker which was about to set sail, overheard and dad was put on board. The ship was bombed and sunk, but thankfully dad was a strong swimmer and got to safety.”
After the war Ron returned to the railways, where he worked his whole life, and met his wife Doris, who died five years ago.
They had two children, Helen and Gordon, and moved to Macclesfield in 1966.
Ron, a grandfather to Hannah and Andrew, was a member of Broken Cross Methodist Church.
Paying tribute on the rugby club’s website, chairman Peter Harper said: “Ron never played for Macc but was an integral part of ‘The Stags’ set up for many a season, and a well known face at Priory Park every Saturday.”
