RUDI Springer, who was the first black chair of South Gloucestershire Council, has died, aged 87.
Rudi was born in Barbados on February 25, 1938, and arrived in the UK at the age of 18 on a ten-day voyage to Tilbury Dock.
He came to live in Wick, where he met and married his wife Jill and sang in the church choir.
After working at the ochre works in Wick, he moved to ICI at Avonmouth where he worked for 33 years as a chemical process operator and was a union shop steward.
On retirement, Rudi was elected as a Labour member of South Gloucestershire Council for the former Rodway ward, (Mangotsfield and New Cheltenham), serving for 15 years, including a term as chair from 1998 – 1999. He also served as Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire.
Rudi chaired the (Bristol Oscar) Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Centre, and was a former chair of South Gloucestershire Safer & Stronger Community Groups and the South Gloucestershire Police Independent Advisory Group (IAG). He was a member of the National Council of the Barbados Association.
Rudi and Jill, who died 13 years ago, lived in The Reddings area of Kingswood and had two children, Jonathan and Sally, four grandchildren – Callie, Jade, Mitchell and Josh – and nine great-grandchildren. Rudi served as a governor at Deerswood and St Stephen’s schools.
Sally said: “My dad was amazing – both my parents were. He worked really hard to give us what we wanted. He was kind and tried to help people as much as he possibly could.
“For somebody who came here on his own he did so well. It wasn’t always easy but he managed to succeed.”
Rudi’s great passion was cricket. He played to a high standard and later was a season ticket holder at Gloucestershire’s County Ground.
Staple Hill and Rodway councillor Michael Bell said: “It was typical of him that whilst working with ICI, eventually becoming the full-time TGWU convenor for a workforce of thousands, he also managed to have management agree for him to have Friday afternoons off to prepare the cricket field for the weekend games!”
He added: “I have known Rudi since the late 1980s, both as a political colleague and as a friend, and he will be sorely missed in both capacities. On behalf of so many residents, groups and members of the public – thank you Rudi.”