HENLEY town councillor Terry Buckett has died, aged 56.
He had been battling cancer for eight months and finally lost his fight in the early hours of Tuesday at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading.
Mr Buckett, who liked to be known as Terry, was married to Pauline and lived in Vicarage Road, Henley. The couple had two children, who are both grown-up.
Terry was a postman for more than 30 years and was made an MBE for services to the Post Office in 1998.
He was a member of the Henley Residents’ Group and was the town’s Mayor on two occasions, in 1996/7 and 2007/8. He also served on South Oxfordshire District Council.
Warm tributes were paid by his council colleagues and some of the famous names who lived on his post round. In May last year, the residents of the Hambleden Valley held a party in Northend for Terry to celebrate his 30 years of delivering mail to them.
At the time, he said: “They are a special bunch, these people of Northend. I have made so many friends in the parish.
“I am so grateful for the way they have supported me. It was because of them that I was honoured to receive my MBE and when I was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal chords they were there to help me fight it.”
Speaking at the family home, Terry’s widow told how he was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal chords six years ago but was given the all-clear in September last year. It was in March that he noticed a lump in his right shoulder and learned that the cancer had returned.
Mrs Buckett said: “He underwent four chemotherapy treatments in three months before having a major operation. Typical of Terry, he was out of hospital just four days later.
“We were told the surgeons hadn’t been able to remove all the cancer and that it was terminal. He fought his illness very bravely.
In July, the family bought a caravan in the seaside town of Selsey in West Sussex. “It gave Terry great strength and he enjoyed staying there with the family,” said Mrs Buckett.
Last week, Terry’s health deteriorated and he was admitted to hospital. “He was a gentleman to the end,” said his widow. “Whenever a lady or member of staff walked into the room he would stand up and shake their hand.”
At the end of last week, Mrs Buckett began a bedside vigil and remained at the hospital until Terry died at 1.05am on Tuesday.
She said: “Terry was in great pain and couldn’t sleep. The doctors said they had given him enough medication to put a horse to sleep. They had to contact the Sue Ryder Care hospice at Nettlebed for advice.”
When the end was near, Terry’s family gathered at his bedside.
“He fought right to the very end,” said Mrs Buckett. “He just didn’t want to close his eyes. In the end he died very peacefully. He just couldn’t have taken any more.”
Terry’s daughter Donna said: “I was very proud of dad. He was the best father in the world and an amazing grandfather.”
His son Lee said Terry was a “friend as well as my father”.
He said: “When he was Mayor for the first time we would have a drink in the Argyll before going back to the town hall and having a few more in the Mayor’s parlour.
“One of our proudest moments was when he went to Buckingham Palace to be awarded his MBE.”
Terry received visits from many of his friends while fighting his cancer, including fellow town councillors Chris Pye and Barry Wood and former councillor Ken Arlett.
Recalling his visit to Buckingham Palace, Terry joked that one visitor he hadn’t received was the Queen. He said: “I have been to her house, maybe she will come to mine!”
Mrs Buckett urged Henley residents to attend Terry’s funeral at St Mary’s Church in Henley on Tuesday.
“He did so much for the town, now the town can do something for him,” she said.
Ironically, Terry had been invited to attend a memorial service at Southwark Cathedral on Tuesday for his friend Sir John Mortimer, the barrister and author who lived in Turville Heath, who died in January, aged 85.
“So they will both be there together, looking down on proceedings,” said Mrs Buckett.
She thanked Dr Michelle Brennan, of the Hart Surgery in Henley, and the Rev Duncan Carter, of Trinity Church.
Henley Mayor Elizabeth Hodgkin led the tributes, saying: “Terry was a dear friend for a very long time and my husband Richard and I will miss him.
“He was a true Henley man. Everything he did was for the town and people of Henley. The way he conducted himself in council meetings was exemplary. He was very independent and always spoke from the heart.
“Terry always had time to stop and talk with people. A walk through Henley with him could take a long time.
“His family and friends meant everything to him and he was fiercely loyal to them. As well as serving as Mayor for two terms, he belonged to many of the town’s youth organisations, working hard in his support of them.
“He was also a trustee of many local charities and was respected by everyone he came into contact with.
“When Townlands Hospital was under threat, Terry threw himself whole-heartedly into the campaign to save it.
“He will be so missed, not only by the council but by the people of Henley, whom he represented so well.”
Boris Johnson, former Henley MP and now Mayor of London, said: “I was so sorry to hear of the death of Terry Buckett, who will be remembered with fondness by people in Henley and beyond.
“He was a great servant of the post office and the wider community.
“I remember him showing me the sorting office one cold morning in the run-up to Christmas and the speed with which he put the post in the pigeon holes.
“I also remember him pointing with a chuckle at all the addresses which, so he claimed, had axed their Spectator subscription under my editorship.”
Current Henley MP John Howell said: “I am sorry I didn’t have a long time working with Terry after my election because it would have been good to have done so.
“I admired the dedication he brought to Henley. He had so much time for the town. I shall always be grateful for the way he engaged me and the friendship he showed me across the political divide.”
Lord Camoys, whose Stonor Park home was on Terry’s post round, said he would always have a smile on his face.
“I have known Terry Buckett since I returned to Stonor Park in 1978,” he said. “As well as his work as a postman, I knew him as a senior member of the Henley community where he did so much for the voluntary sector with such great enthusiasm and sense of humour.
“Later, I knew him as nominee trustee of the River and Rowing Museum. He was a totally trustworthy person both as a postman and in his other activities. We shall miss him, and his smile, enormously.”
Author Ian McEwan, who also lived on Terry’s round, said: “Our village is a few miles through the beech woods to the north of Henley and we have counted ourselves lucky that we lay on Terry Buckett’s beat.
“Like countless rural communities, Northend has, within a generation, lost its school, post office and pubs. Terry was a crucial unifying force, bringing not only letters but local news and so binding us together.
“He was held in great affection and profound respect. He had about him an air of authority, lightly and easily worn, and this quality sat unusually and comfortably with his kindness.
“I always thought that in another set of circumstances, he could have held the highest office in the land — his sense of civic duty towards others was so ingrained and, again, so easily assumed.
“Across a wide area around Henley, hundreds will miss their morning conversations with him. He was the best of men and so courageous in his illness.
“I hope that in his passing he will bring us together again in the making of an appropriate form of memorial.”
Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman, who lives in Stonor, said: “Terry was so much more than just a postman. He was the sort of man who put a lot more into the world than he took out.
“He had this great knack of knowing everyone, even the names of all the children in the valley. He must have met everyone in the area and knew everything that was going on, but he was always so discreet. He will be very sadly missed.”
Lady Mortimer said: “My husband got on incredibly well with Terry. They would sometimes sit down for a drink together. He was a friend and an incredible man.
“I just hope he and John are having a drink and enjoying themselves somewhere.”
James and Jo McConville, who helped organise the Northend party for Terry, said: “To everyone on his rounds in Turville and Stonor he was very much more than just ‘Terry the Postman’ and a caring, respected and much-loved friend.
“There are many stories and memories of his acts of kindness which went far beyond the call of duty. He was particularly concerned with looking after the welfare of the elderly and vulnerable, particularly people living alone or in poor health.
“In cold weather he had been known to fetch in coal for old people and on one occasion he rescued a lady who had fallen over outside and badly injured a leg.
“He also kept an eye open for signs of potential difficulty, such as milk left on a doorstep or unlocked doors, and would warn neighbours and keyholders.
“He was loved by the children and loved to receive their pictures and drawings.”
Terry’s funeral, at St Mary’s, will take place at 11.30am and will be followed by a private cremation in Reading. Family flowers only are requested and Terry’s wish was that donations be made to the Townlands Action Group and delivered to the town hall.
A book of remembrance has been opened at the town hall.
Published on 16 November 2009
|
