Fond memories of dedicated town clerk Ron (From Droitwich Advertiser)

Fond memories of dedicated town clerk Ron

7:10pm Friday 3rd July 2009

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THE first town clerk of Stourport Town Council, who played a major role in setting up twinning relations with Villeneuve-le-Roi, has died, aged 86.

Ron Nixon, of Woodbury Road North, Stourport, was town clerk of the council from 1974 to 1988 and up until 1994 he was associate town clerk.

He had previously held a similar position at the former Stourport Urban District Council for 31 years before the 1974 local government reorganisation.

Mr Nixon was at the forefront of town twinning and an adviser to the Paris-based Council of Municipalities and Regions in the 1980s.

He was particularly concerned with building relations between young people in Stourport and its French twin. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, he advised the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) on policy matters. He was a founder member of the Individual Members Group of the former Local Government International Bureau and was unanimously elected vice-president of the Local Government Group for Europe (LGE). Born in the Potteries, Mr Nixon was a keen supporter of Stoke City Football Club.

His wife, Margaret and a daughter survive him.

Gordon McCartney, LGE secretary and former head of the Association of District Councils, said Mr Nixon was one of the most respected and well-liked chief officers in UK and European local government.

He said: “Ron was a model local government officer and a committed European. He was a lovely man, great company with a fantastic sense of humour. There are so many people whose lives have been enriched by knowing him.”

Current members of Stourport Town Council paid tribute to him as a “great servant of the town” after hearing of his death in May.

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