12:48pm Wednesday 1st July 2009
By Gazette Reporter
JAMES (Jimmy) Kench, one of Norton’s best-known personalities, has died at the age of 84.
He served as a councillor for the town, initially as a member of the former Norton Urban District Council, then its successor, Norton Town Council.
He served as both mayor and deputy mayor of Norton during his 33 years as a councillor.
For many years, Mr Kench, formerly a journalist with the Gazette & Herald, was a churchwarden at Norton’s parish church, St Peter’s. He had also worked at Birdsall House, home of Lord Middleton, in his younger days.
A widower, he lived in Sutton Street, Norton, before becoming a resident at Ashfield Nursing Home in the town.
His funeral takes place at Octon Crematorium tomorrow (Thursday) at 3pm.
Coun Keith Mennell, who worked alongside Mr Kench as a councillor for much of his long career, said: “He will be missed because he had served Norton well as a councillor. He was a hard worker for the community.”
One of his keen interests was the Malton and Road Safety Committee on which he was a long-serving member until his retirement from local government in 2003.
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