MID Devon District Councillor, Mrs Jenny Roach, who has died aged 71, was born in Middleton, Lancashire before moving as a young child to Anglesey.

In 1979 she married Stephen Roach, an RSPCA Inspector, and at that time they moved to Silverton near Tiverton.

Jenny was a keen gardener, enjoyed walking on the beaches of Devon and Anglesey, prawning and was an avid reader, not only of novels but burning the midnight oil to read Council papers, cover-to-cover.

In 1992, she stood as a Liberal Candidate in the General Election within the Tiverton and Honiton Division. Although losing to Conservative Angela Browning on more than one occasion, Jenny and Angela (now Baroness Browning) remained very good friends.

LIBERAL

Since 1987, in addition to her duties as District Councillor, Jenny served on Silverton Parish Council and at the time of her death was Chair of that Council. Additionally, she was the National Nominating Agent for the Liberal Party, a role that she played during the period.

Jenny was elected as a Liberal Councillor to the Silverton Ward of Mid Devon District Council in May 1987, which she represented until her death, with the exception of a period between 2007 and 2011 when she had a period of illness, which prevented her from standing as a Candidate.

During her time as a District Councillor, she was a most prolific and conscientious worker and undertook an enormous amount of work on behalf of the Parishioners within her ward.

HELPFUL

Her last Chair of a MDDC Committee was on Scrutiny, where she was extremely effective. Jenny loved to challenge where she felt it was necessary.

Jenny’s ethos was to always help people where she could, no doubt imbedded in her approach to life as a qualified Social Worker and subsequently an NVQ accessor. Latterly, she assisted her husband, Stephen, in their antique books, toys and records business.

Four years ago, Jenny embarked on the Silverton Room4U project. She oversaw, as Chairman of the Trustees, the purchase of the MDDC’s disused toilet block opposite Wyndham House Surgery, the demolition of the building, the raising of £125,000 and the construction of the new build, as a Health and Well-being Centre.

Fortunately, she lived long enough to see her project come to fruition and the benefit to people with Dementia and their Carers and the lonely Senior Citizens, who regularly come to the Centre.

STOOD UP TO INJUSTICE

Tributes include:

• A Councillor who slogged away relentlessly to help her Ward Members and stand up to injustice.

• Jenny did so much for the Community. The number of people she helped over the years and everything she did was straight down the line. She wouldn’t bend the rules for anyone; it always had to be straight and honest. I always respected her for that and how she worked. She always gained my respect for all that she has achieved, particularly with her work on the Room4U Scheme.

• Where you have a Council which is dominated by one Party, she was a brilliant irritant regarding raising matters that needed to be raised.

Jenny is survived by her husband, Stephen and by her two sisters, Liz and Sue.

FOUGHT FOR HER COMMUNITY

Frank Letch, the Mid Devon District Councillor for the Lawrence Ward of Crediton, paid tribute to Jenny.

He said: "People over this side of Mid Devon will not know of Jenny Roach. She was the district councillor for Silverton. Her passing away came as a great surprise and shock to me.

"She was a a fighter who stood up for her community. She read all papers thoroughly and was brilliant at questioning officers and councillors ’in power’.

"She was a true friend to me and a role model of what it takes to be a good councillor and representative of your electorate namely honesty, integrity and thoroughness."

Mel Stride, the MP for Central Devon, said: "I was very saddened to hear that Jenny has passed away. I know how much she cared about Silverton and how hard she worked. My thoughts are with her family."