My father, Lloyd Williams, who has died aged 84 after suffering from Covid-19 and heart problems, was 22 when he was first elected to the parish council in Waen, north Wales. He went on to give more than 60 years of service to his local community as a parish, borough and county councillor, and as a highly respected chair of all three councils.
Waen is a hamlet near St Asaph, Denbighshire. Lloyd was born there, to Jane (nee Evans) and John Williams, both farmers; he had two older brothers and an adored half-sister who had severe disabilities. He would walk two miles each day to the village school in Rhuallt and later went to St Asaph grammar school. Intelligent and hard-working, he passed the “school certificates” with distinction and wanted to study to be a vet, but as for most at that time he had to leave school to work on the farm.
Lloyd’s service to others was guided by his quiet and gentle faith. People sought his advice on different matters, knowing they would receive a sympathetic ear and help. Many were discreetly given financial support. Lloyd believed that everyone should have the same opportunities whatever their background. He opposed the selling of local authority housing, believing young families would have no opportunity to live and work in their local area and dormitory villages would result, a prophecy that was sadly realised.
He campaigned successfully in the early 1990s for the Rhuallt bypass to be built on the A55. The B-road through the village had caused many fatalities, and Lloyd invited the Welsh secretary of state to visit and to see how a small rural road was unsuitable to carry the hundreds of thousands of cars travelling into north Wales.
Conservation and stewardship were very important to him. He planted woodlands, created ponds and wildlife habitats, getting up at first light to do farm work before changing into his suit for countless meetings, then returning home and working late into the night until the last months of his life.
He was instrumental in establishing a free rural day care service for severely disabled and elderly people in Denbighshire in 2011.
In 1960 Lloyd married Margaret Winter Davies, who grew up on a neighbouring farm, and together they ran her family’s farm for many years. Sadly Lloyd and Margaret were both infected with Covid-19, and Lloyd’s previous heart problems resurfaced.
He is survived by Margaret, and their two daughters – my sister, Ffion and me – six grandchildren, Emilia, Miriam, Gethin, Elen, Tom and Aled, and a great-granddaughter, Neli.
