VERY SPECIAL
Tributes to a trailblazer who made ‘immense contribution not only to her community but to the whole of Wales’
TRIBUTES have been paid to long serving councillor Patricia Larsen, who, passed away at the weekend. She was 94.
Mrs Larsen, from Penisarwaun near Caernarfon, was first elected as a councillor in Bangor in the early 1950s and was the only female member of the city council.
Until her retirement from the council chamber in 2012, she was the longest serving councillor in Gwynedd.
Mrs Larsen’s son, Cai, announced his mother’s death in a post on social media.
He said: “She had been in poor health for some time, and had deteriorated significantly over the past week.
“She died peacefully and was tenderly cared for at Gwynfa throughout her stay there. I would like to thank Gwynfa staff for that care. It is a great loss to us and the wider family.”
A former primary school teacher, Mrs Larsen served as mayor on the former Arfon District Council.
She was a member of the former Gwynedd Council and was elected on to the newly formed Gwynedd Council in 1996.
She was its first chair, in 1996-98. Cai said apart from a period when her children were small, Mrs Larsen had been a councillor for more than 50 years.
Paying tribute in a message to the Larsen family on social media, Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts said: “I am proud to have known your mother when she was a county councillor, remembering her toughness and friendliness.”
Gwynedd Council vice-chair Elwyn Jones, who now represents the Penisarwaun ward, said: “I’m very sorry to hear of Mrs Larsen’s death. She was a very special woman who had a very special relationship in the community and beyond.”
Cllr Simon Glyn, the current chair of Gwynedd Council, said: “Pat Larsen served tirelessly and effectively for her area and for Wales for many years and will be fondly remembered.”
Arfon Senedd Member Sian Gwenllian, who served with Mrs Larsen on Gwynedd Council for many years, added: “I was saddened to hear about the passing of Pat Larsen, a woman who was very much ahead of her time. Hers was an immense contribution not only to her community, but to the whole of Wales.
“She led the way for women such as myself in her unyielding determination and I considered it a privilege to have served side-by-side with her.”
Former pupil Meira Evans wrote on social media: “Really sorry to hear the news. I remember her coming to teach at Ysgol Dolbadarn (Llanberis) as Miss Burgess. She made such a contribution to her area.”
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “We learnt with sadness of the death of Mrs Patricia Larsen, former chair of Gwynedd Council, who gave a lifetime of service to her local community.”
Mrs Larsen leaves a husband, Leslie, sons Cai, Trystan and Rheon and daughter Ffion and their children.