A FRIENDLY face who enjoyed a good joke behind the counter at Kemerton’s village butchers shop, is how John Walker will be remembered following his death, aged 90.

Mr Walker died peacefully at his Kemerton home on November 19 and his son Martin, who now runs the long-standing butchers, paid tribute to his father ahead of his funeral on Monday.

The business has been in the Walker family for more than a century and started out in Birmingham before moving to Kemerton, where it has remained for more than 80 years.

John joined his father at the business straight from school and was in the Home Guard during the war. Martin took over from his father when he retired at the age of 65 but John would regularly pop into the shop to help out.

“People around here knew him very well. He always had a smile, was always cheerful and enjoyed a joke. He was involved in many aspects of village life and his life was all about work and church. In his spare time he liked to play bowls and was one of the founder members of Overbury Bowling Club,” said Martin.

John lived at the Railway Inn in Bredon as boy and went to Overbury and Bredon Hancocks schools. He was a churchwarden for 29 years and was chairman of Kemerton Village Hall for 25 years. His late wife Freda and son Martin were his close family and he had no grandchildren.

John enjoyed a memorable time in Bredon and as a four-year-old he even saw an elephant walk past his home – not a claim many Vale residents can make.

The circus was moving from Tewkesbury to Pershore and John spotted the animal pulling a cart from his sister’s bedroom window.

John’s funeral will be in Cheltenham on Monday at 11.15am, followed by a service of thanksgiving at Kemerton Church at 2pm. All who knew him are welcome to attend.