EX-MAYOR AND WIFE FOUND DEAD IN GARDEN
DEVOTED COUPLE DIED SUDDENLY AS TEMPERATURES REACHED 28°C
A HUSBAND and wife both died in their garden on one of the hottest days of the year.
Tony Williams, 86, and his wife Faith, 87, were found in the garden of their Vale of Glamorgan home on Sunday.
Their daughter Dr Ruth Williams said she believes her father fell in the garden at his home in Welsh St Donats after undergoing a large operation last year.
She said a neighbour found the couple after she was unable to get hold of her parents on the phone.
Temperatures reached around 28°C in the area on Sunday.
South Wales Police said they are investigating the couple’s sudden deaths but that they are not being treated as suspicious.
Mr Williams, also known as AJ Williams, was a former Vale of Glamorgan councillor who represented the Peterston-super-Ely ward until his retirement in 2007. He was also a former mayor and council deputy leader.
Dr Williams said: “Dad had many happy memories and anecdotes of his 48 years of continuous service to the community and had a detailed knowledge of every part of the Vale of Glamorgan.
“Their home was frequently the ‘nerve centre’ of campaigns such as ‘Stop the Super Quarry’ in the 1970s.
“Mum supported dad in every way, not least when she was deputy mayoress and then mayoress during the opening of the Civic Offices in 1981. She organised and catered for functions in the Mayor’s Parlour herself, and dignitaries from other organisations were keen to be invited once they tasted her food.
“Mum instigated the annual mayor’s charity ball and the mayoress’ charity coffee mornings. They were a terrific team and always proud ambassadors for the Vale of Glamorgan Council.”
Mr Williams represented the ward since the creation of the Vale of Glamorgan Council in 1974, having previously served as a councillor and chairman on the former Cardiff Rural District Council.
In 2004 Mr Williams was recognised in the New Year’s Honours List with an MBE for services to local government and conservation in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Councillor John Thomas and leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council expressed his shock and sadness at the news.
Coun Thomas said:“Tony devoted considerable time and commitment to the Vale of Glamorgan Council and I had the honour and privilege of working alongside him since joining the council in 1999. Tony was the elder statesman providing valuable support and advice to myself as a new and inexperienced councillor. Both he and Faith will be sadly missed but fondly remembered.”
Mr Williams was interested in planning and environmental matters and was a key founder of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.
During his time as councillor he represented his ward on the planning committee and held the post of planning committee chairman as well as cabinet member with responsibility for planning matters.
He also represented the authority on the board of the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation and on the South Wales Provincial Council.
Vale of Glamorgan Council’s managing director Rob Thomas said: “My thoughts are with Tony and Faith’s daughter Dr Ruth Williams at this very difficult time.”