ONE of Abergavenny's best known sons - Laurie Jones died last week at the age of 72.

In this moving piece friends and family pay tribute to a man who made the town his home and worked tirelessly for its betterment.

Laurence Raymond Jones, Laurie, was born in Llanfiangel Crucorney on 13 January 1942, in what is now 'Trout Cottage' but was then known as 'Ryddavilla'.

While the cottage had no electricity or running water, it had the warmth and love of his greater maternal family. Laurie's mother, Ida Parsons had accepted a nursing post at Rampton Hospital, in Nottinghamshire where she met and married Hywel Glynn Jones from Builth Wells, in Mid Wales.

Before Laurie was born, Ida came home to Wales, where they spent four happy years before re-joining his father in Nottinghamshire. Laurie was to be joined by a sister, Louise, and he vividly recalled the time when they both developed scarlet fever and were sent to an isolation hospital. He maintained that it was the recent introduction of antibiotics which saved their lives.

The family home, situated in the grounds of Rampton Institute, a top security prison, gave the young Laurie ample opportunity to roam and explore the natural world. He gained a place in the local grammar school, and represented the county in long jump and middle distant running.

At 16, after completing his 0' Levels, he left home, bound for London and a career in the police force. However a routine examination revealed that he was colour blind, so instead, found himself in a junior post in the Home Office.

At 21, Laurie was married (for eighteen years) to Sheila and had two daughters, Jennie and Oonagh who recall many childhood walks with their dad, tree climbing and scrumping in Hadley Woods. In 1984 Laurie and Shirley married, and as their two sons, John and Owen were born, they too were introduced to Laurie's world of climbing trees, roaming and foraging; this time on Kenley Common.

Laurie continued to rise through the Home Office ranks and was an experienced Trade Union Rep, but in 1997 following a period of ill-health resulting in triple by-pass surgery, he retired and became 'house-dad' as Shirley returned to work.

Laurie always longed to return to his first home, and the call of Wales was strong in him, so in 1999 the family settled in Mount Street, and Laurie achieved his desire to return permanently.

Once here, he lost no time in joining Plaid Cymru and, hearing that a Friends of the Earth group was to be launched he went to the inaugural meeting and signed up. He volunteered as a classroom helper, and later became a parent-governor at the former, Park Street Infants School.

In 2004 Laurie was catapulted into local politics and community life, when he (with others) battled to save the school from closure. He is remembered as being tireless in this objective, despite being diagnosed with prostate cancer just a month after the campaign launch,

Laurie was elected to Abergavenny Town Council, and served on the Board of Governors at King Henry VIII School but was unable to continue with these roles beyond one term of office, as he was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2007.

Over his fifteen years in Abergavenny, Laurie was involved in a wide range of local activities, initiatives and organisations that included Plaid Cymru, Friends of the Earth, Abergavenny Town Council, Abergavenny Community Centre (Park Street), The Skatepark Project, The Bryn-y-Cwm Community Forum, The Community Link with Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, Abergavenny Climate Action (later to become Abergavenny Transition Town), Abergavenny Community Woodland Group, Abergavenny Community Energy Group, The Friends of Castle Meadows and, The Abergavenny Orchard and Community Gardens that launched Incredible Edibles.

To Laurie, everyone mattered, particularly the young, who he felt were missing out on valuable horticultural and culinary skills. Fully committed to re-skilling people, and not one to accept the status-quo, it was a natural step for Laurie to turn his full attention to food sustainability.

He had a vision in which Abergavenny was the centre of a thriving local food system with community growing spaces, including a community farm, and training opportunities for the young.

As a councillor, he was anxious for the regeneration of the town to continue so he joined a group of councillors who saw a series of important financial decisions materialise.

Those benefits were carried forward to this day to make help possible for many local organisations.

He was an inspirational leader and an articulate advocate who related well to varied age groups and abilities. His great contribution was to convert, often quite abstract concepts, into concrete action on the ground.

Laurie's willingness to 'shake the tree' and be a bit cheeky to get things done was refreshing.  He brought his own dry humour and no-nonsense approach to meetings, and will be famously remembered for his economy with words which could sometimes be baffling!  

Laurie was passionate about community, and he believed in the value and the power of people in communities acting together for the benefit of all. Unconcerned with personal kudos it was enough for him that the result was achieved.

A true community activist, he had the knack of building bridges, and working with politicians and decision makers, who, respected Laurie as a principled man with a desire to make his community a better place.

Over the years, despite health setbacks Laurie's words and actions, energy, vision and drive galvanised and mobilised people. His enthusiasm was infectious and he kept people inspired. 

" He will be remembered as a man of action rather than words, filled with boundless enthusiasm and a sense of fun: a true force for good. Laurie was greatly admired.  He is impossible to replace.

"He will be very sadly missed. Such is the camaraderie promoted by this man," said his friend and colleague Marion Pearce."