Tributes to former mayor of Elmbridge, Derek Denyer (From Your Local Guardian)

Tributes to former mayor of Elmbridge, Derek Denyer

1:40pm Friday 17th February 2012 in Elmbridge By Louise Robertson

The home of a former mayor has been filled with condolence cards after his death.

The sheer volume of people writing to express their condolences speaks volumes of the affect Derek Denyer, 80, had on the Elmbridge community.

A great lover of the arts and politics, Mr Denyer served as a councillor for Hersham South between 1988 and 2008, with a year’s stint as mayor in 1998.

He took the majority Conservative party in to opposition during time as leader, a position he gained by default when Virginia Waller died on the night of local elections.

His chosen charity as mayor was Marie Curie Cancer Care and his mayoral fields of hope appeal was so successful that it saw 60 to 70,000 daffodils planted across Elmbridge to raise money for the charity.

His wife of 35 years, Olga Denyer, said: “In his manifesto he said he wanted to turn Elmbridge in to a blooming borough and he did it, which I think is really lovely.

“He has left the borough a wonderful legacy with that.”

Planting of the spring bulbs continues now, which serves as a lovely reminder for the family of someone described as an understanding father and wonderful man.

For Mr Denyer, his community was everything and, throughout the years, he showed dedicated support to Rosebriars Trust, the CAB, Walton Charity, Elmbridge Youth Theatre and Charity of Robert Phillips.

Mr Denyer, who worked at Esso and BT before he retired as their director of logistics, was also a governor at Burhill Infants School, Hersham.

Mrs Denyer said: “He helped a lot of people. I think that shows in all the cards we’ve got.

“Derek would be amazed by all of this. He was a very influential man because he had a wonderful gift of persuasion and talking things through.

“He was never confrontational, only if you really provoked him, and he was a master of the English language, a real wordsmith and a good orator.

“He was sincere and very fair. He was tough and got things done, and was the sort of man who treated everybody as an equal.

“It didn’t matter what party, creed or colour you were, he was just that kind of man.

“I’m very touched by the great number of condolences and flowers I’ve received and I thank everybody for saying such kind words about Derek.”

Mr Denyer’s funeral takes place at the end of the month. The family have asked for family flowers only and donations to Marie Curie.

Mr Denyer leaves behind his wife, their four children and six grandchildren.