Former chairman of Ilkley Urban District Council, Colin Outtersides, has died aged 90.
Colin lived all his life in Menston, until December 2013 when he and Grace, his wife of 70 years, went to live in south west Scotland to be near their youngest daughter Sally and her family.
He was born on June 3, 1923, at Cadema Bakery, Menston, to Arthur and Ada Outtersides. He has an older brother, Derek, who still lives in the house where he and Colin were born.
After education at Menston Primary School and Woodhouse Grove, Colin took up employment at The National Provincial Bank in Bradford.
When war began, he performed Home Guard duties before volunteering for the RAF.
He trained as a pilot, later converting to navigator/bomb aimer and saw service in the UK and South Africa as a flying officer. He ended the war as assistant adjutant at RAF Leaconfield.
In 1940 Colin met his future wife Grace Jarvis at Menston Feast, which was held in the fields behind the Fox, now known as Brooklands Park. They married on December 30, 1943.
After the war ended, Colin returned to banking, later joining the family business Cadema Bakery, which consisted of two shops on Bradford Road and Cleasby Road and the bakery on Leathley Road, now a studio.
This was a very happy time for Colin and Grace in their family home, behind the shop on Cleasby Road, working hard and raising their children Robert, Joan and Sally. Holidays were spent on the Norfolk Broads, which was always Colin’s favourite place.
During this time Colin was asked to stand as a councillor. Duly elected, he served for nine years unopposed. He was chairman in 1967 and thoroughly enjoyed being of service to the community.
Fulfilling a lifetime ambition to teach Colin decided to leave the family business and train to be a teacher at Margaret McMillan College, Bradford, where his son Robert was also studying.
Colin taught at Broadgate Lane School, Horsforth, where he was greatly respected by pupils and colleagues.
On his retirement he enjoyed long-distance walking, cycling and gardening with Grace; he in his vegetable plot and Grace in her award winning alpine garden.
Colin died on April 21, 2014 at Stranraer Hospital, south west Scotland.
He leaves his widow Grace, their three children, daughter-in-law Trish and son-in-laws John and Robert, nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
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