THE death has been announced of a man who greatly supported the life and people of the village in which he was born.

Jack Fey was born in Shobrooke on June 14, 1929 to John and Dorothy Fey.

He was yet another “John” Fey (of which four are buried in the Shobrooke churchyard) with the family dating back to the 1700’s.

Jack and his two sisters lived in a cottage in the village, and at age of four, he started at the village school.

He left school at 14 and having a skill with numbers, went to work as a clerk in Mr Mitchell’s Accountancy firm in Crediton, where he remained for 60 years.

Jack never really fully retired as he continued to do accounts for valued customers and friends at home.

In 1947, he started his National Service with the 82nd RAF Squadron where he spent two years based in Kenya and Ghana.

In 1956, Jack met Stephanie and they were married at Crediton Parish Church later that year.

In 1957, the family moved into 6 The Village, having purchased the cottage for £425 from John Shelley.

The cottage consisted of two bedrooms, a living room and a small kitchen, with the washhouse and toilet located in the garden.

This was a bit of a squeeze for the growing family, as after Jackie was born, along came Carole, Martin, Bridget and Mandy.

So, in the late 1960’s the family moved into a newly-built property on the site of the old village school.

Jack was one of life’s characters and did so much for the village, being Church Sexton, Treasurer, cutting the churchyard and digging the graves.

He was an active member of the Village Friendly Club and Village Hall Treasurer.

His love of cricket saw him as a player, organiser and latterly as an umpire, only leaving the pitch when bad weather put out his cigarette!

His reward for 76 years of commitment to the club came with the opening of the Fey Pavilion at Shobrooke Park.

He could often be found at the Red Lion Inn and every Saturday afternoon on the Big Bank where he oversaw Exeter City FC in 10 separate decades.

Jack joined in the quizzes, darts matches and skittles teams regularly. More recently, he had enjoyed the Open Mic nights where his rendition of “The Laughing Policeman” was legendary!

There are many ways in which Jack supported the life and people of Shobrooke, too many to mention here, but those who knew him will know that nothing was too much trouble.

Jack, who passed away on May 28, will be missed not only by his loving family, which now includes eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren but also by everyone that knew him in the village and beyond.