Tributes have been paid to a renowned former Accrington funeral director and Rotary Club president, following his death aged 80.

Raymond Platt Wolstenholme was also a dedicated member of St James Church , singing in the choir from the age of eight until the late 1990s.

President of Accrington Rotary Club, he was director of Wolstenholme Funeral Services, based at its chapel of rest on Willows Lane, Accrington.

His widow, Maureen, said she would “miss him very much”.

She said: “He was wonderful and we had 24 years together. He was very quiet and home-loving.

“We used to like going out in the car and every February we went to Scotland to see the snow.

“His work was his hobby and I appreciated how much he enjoyed it. I worked with him for 15 years and was very pleased to support him.”

Mr Wolstenholme, who attended Hyndburn Park School before joining his father in the funeral service business at age 18, leaves his children with former wife Sylvia, Janet, Elaine, Kelvin and Ruth, and eight grandchildren - Natalie, Charlotte, Anna, Catherine, Emily, Tom, Joe and Katie.

He wrote his own eulogy, around 10 years ago, so that his wife would have it ‘if anything happened to him’.

In it, he explained how he took over Wolstenholme Funeral Services when his father died in 1962, and married Maureen in 1992.

Mr Wolstenholme retired from the family business when he was 71, but remained involved in the church, Rotary and the Peter Pan Club, which supports children with Down’s Syndrome.

Gordon Whewell, church warden at St James Church on Cannon Street, said: “I’ve known Raymond for about 69 years - he must have started in the choir at about the time I first came to the church at the age of six or seven.

“He was a devoted servant to the church, in the choir for many years and a generous man.

“Whenever he was able to come he was there.

“He was a quiet man, very helpful when asked to contribute his views on the church, and a local businessman.

“He was very well-liked in the town.”

Mr Wolstenholme spent his final days in Gilwood Lodge Nursing Home in Blackpool, and passed away on Monday, March 21. His funeral was held on Thursday, March 31, at Lytham Park Crematorium.