A LONG-standing member of Malvern Rotary Club, who won the highest honour Rotary can bestow, has died, aged 85.

Sandy Gibson served as president of the club for two terms, in 1991/2 and then more recently in 2017/8.

Mr Gibson and his family moved to Malvern from Solihull in 1983, after he was made manager of the town’s branch of Barclays Bank, on the corner of Worcester Road and Edith Walk, where he remained until his retirement in 1992.

During his time in the town, Mr Gibson became an active member of Malvern Rotary, becoming involved in some of the club’s best-known activities such as Heart Start, the Tree of Light, and the ever-popular annual pancake race.

In 2007, his decades of hard work and dedication were rewarded with the highest honour the Rotary Club can bestow, the Paul Harris Fellow award.

The award is named after the founder of the club, and Mr Gibson was the first Malvern member to receive it.

Among his achievements were helping to raise thousands for charities like Acorns Children’s Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support.

He also helped gather vital funds for victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

As well as his work for Rotary, Mr Gibson was an active supporter of St Richard’s Hospice, heading the Malvern fundraising group and serving on its board of governors for a number of years.

He was also involved with the local unit of the Sea Cadets.

When he was presented with the Rotary award, Mr Gibson told our sister paper, the Malvern Gazette: “It really is a very considerable honour bestowed by one’s peers, and that hits you between the eyes.

“It’s a very humbling experience, there are so many other people who do so much.”

The club’s president at the time, Martin Burton, said: “Sandy has given exemplary service to the club over a sustained period of time, and is thoroughly deserving of the award.”

His widow, Joan Gibson, said: “Sandy definitely liked to be busy, and to become involved in things that served the community.

“He was also a man for whom family was very important.

“He will be missed by a great many people.”

A service in celebration of Mr Gibson’s life will be held on Thursday, August 1, in Great Malvern Priory, staring at 1.45pm, and Mrs Gibson said that all those who knew him will be welcome to attend.