FAMILY and friends are mourning the death of a retired Radcliffe minister who died suddenly at the age of 72.

Rev Geoffrey Jones, who was the minister at the Bridge Methodist Church for 13 years until his retirement in 1995, suffered a stroke two weeks ago.

He was taken to Fairfield General Hospital where he passed away on Saturday, May 18, just three days after his 72nd birthday.

A former accountant at various companies in the Manchester area, Rev Jones first got the call to join the ministry while working at Litton's Tannery in Heywood.

He entered the ministry at the age of 29 and became a minister at Milnrow in Rochdale for five years and spent 15 years at South Chadderton in Oldham before settling at Radcliffe.

While at Radcliffe, Rev Jones saw the church commence on a major refurbishment programme which transformed the building into a thriving social centre as well as a place of worship.

He was also instrumental in the production of the Millennium Radcliffe Gospel, as honorary chairman of the Radcliffe branch of the Bible Society, which saw hundreds of schoolchildren contribute handwritten sections of the Gospel according to St Luke.

A keen Bury FC supporter and an avid cricket fan, Rev Jones was always on the go with his ministerial work and favourite pastimes.

He enjoyed playing the guitar and water colour painting and was involved in numerous organisations, including the English Corner, which helped Chinese families living in Manchester improve their English language skills.

He was the trustee of two Evangelical charities, the Northern Evangelical Trust and Spearhead, and had recently become involved with the Bury Refugee Support Group.

His wife Mary (70), of Wingate Drive, Whitefield, who spent a lot of time assisting her husband in his duties, said: "When he said he wanted to join the ministry and do God's work someone warned him he would never go anywhere or do anything. Well, we have been to at least 12 countries ministering and recently returned from a few weeks working in Cyprus in February. He was always very busy with his work."

And as a lasting legacy, Rev Jones' family agreed to donate his liver and kidneys to three needy patients, encouraging other families in a similar position to give organ donations Rev Jones leaves a daughter and two sons and six grandchildren.

There will be a thanksgiving service in celebration of Rev Jones' life on Monday (May 27) at the Bridge Methodist Church at 1pm. This follows a private committal attended by the family.