Tributes paid to late former Bucks Council chairman who spent decades in local politics
Tributes have been paid to former Buckinghamshire County Council chairman Kenneth Ross MBE following his death.
Members of Buckinghamshire Council held a minute’s silence in memory of the former chairman and deputy lieutenant of the county.
Cllr John Chilver, chairman of Buckinghamshire Council, said it was with the “greatest sadness” that he had to report the recent passing of Mr Ross
He said: “Ken was chairman of Buckinghamshire County Council from 1994 to 2001, first elected as member for the Chepping Wycombe ward in 1981 and then for Flackwell Heath in 1985 until standing down.
“In 2010 Ken was made an honorary alderman, one of the first to be appointed to the new Buckinghamshire County Council scheme to honour ex -councillors.
“Ken was appointed as a deputy lieutenant in June 2001, retiring in 2009 and was awarded an MBE in 2015 for public and voluntary services in High Wycombe.
“On behalf of [the] council, I send our thoughts and condolences to Ken’s family and friends.”
During the council’s annual meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Chilver read out a note which had been received from Ken’s daughter. Reading the note, he said: “My father, Kenneth Ross, was many things to many people, a husband, a father, a neighbour, a friend.
“Among the roles he held in his life, few gave him greater pride or demanded more of him than his seven years as chairman of Bucks County Council.
“He came to that position not for recognition, but out of a genuine and deep belief that local government matters, that the decisions made in rooms like this one ripple outwards into real lives, into the streets of Flackwell Heath, into the communities across this county.
“He understood perhaps better than most that public service is not a title, it is a calling. Those of you who knew him will remember a man who brought fairness to the chair. Political life is rarely without disagreement, that is its nature, and he accepted that. But what set him apart was his willingness to listen, to those who shared his views and equally to those who did not.
“He believed that good decisions come from honest debate, and he gave every voice in this chamber the respect it deserved. To those of you who never had the privilege of meeting him, and I know there are many here today, you will honour him simply by being present, by continuing the work, by caring and wanting to serve Bucks.
“He believed in local government with his whole heart.”