AN ALL-round community stalwart from Mortlake died suddenly on Thursday while on a visit to California.

John Saunders was a councillor, magistrate, Rotarian, chorister and church reader. He was also for many years a printer at the Richmond and Twickenham Times group, whose former editor Malcolm Richards said he "dedicated his life to community work".

Cllr Saunders’ death at the age of 68, came as a shock to all who knew him. He was a printer, working nearly all his working life in the printworks of the Richmond and Twickenham Times series, subsequently transferring to Puritan Litho, a commercial printing subsidiary based on the same site. He retired from this in the mid 1990s.

The Shalstone Road resident was a lay reader at the church of St Michael and All Angels, Barnes, a member of Kew Rotary Club served two terms as president. He had also served on the Richmond magistrates’ bench.

Council leader Tony Arbour was a close friend. He said: "John embodied all of the qualities of a good citizen. He had been my friend for more than thirty years. To me and to countless others he was Richmond. He printed the local paper, he was a leading churchman, he was president of the Rotary Club, a school governor and he valiantly contested local by-elections in the Conservative interest.

"For decades, as fellow members of the bench, the Local Education Authority and the council, we worked together as colleagues. We knew that if we ever a safe pair of hands was needed, John would provide them. His friendly avuncular bearded figure was recognised throughout the town. His passing leaves a gap that cannot be filled."

A close friend of John and the family, Conservative party agent Penny Proctor, said: "I cannot speak highly enough about him. His work for charity was absolutely phenomenal. He was so sensitive and had a good heart because he honestly cared about people which is rare these days. I mean he really cared and it didn’t matter about politics. I have known him for over 20 years and I will miss him greatly. The one way to describe John would be, not just as a gentleman, but as a gentle man."

See page eight for further tributes.