A FORMER Bickerton vicar found hanged at his North Wales home last week, was remembered at a funeral service.
The body of John Gore Rees, 83, who lived in Gwernaffield, is understood to have been found by a carer.
Mr Gore Rees had served as vicar of Northop for more than 30 years before moving to the Chester diocese as vicar of Bickerton with Bickley.
But after his wife Marjorie was seriously injured in a car accident in 1990 he gave up his work and moved to High Park, Gwernaffield, to care for her.
A North Wales police spokeswoman confirmed: “We were called after reports the body of a man had been found hanging at a property in High Park, Gwernaffield. There are no suspicious circumstances.”
Mr Gore Rees was described as ‘a quiet, thoughtful man’ who dedicated his life to looking after Marjorie.
The former school nurse suffered a broken neck and was left paralysed when a branch fell on her car in high winds in Flint Mountain.
Rev Adrian Copping, a vicar who oversees parishes including Gwernaffield, said Mr Gore Rees’ story was ‘tragic’.
“When he moved to Gwernaffield it was a difficult time,” he said.
“He devoted a large amount of his time and the rest of his life to looking after Marjorie.
“After she died he came out a bit more and he used to visit Holy Trinity Church in Gwernaffield and go back to his old parish in Northop and into Mold.
“He’ll be very much missed. I enjoyed his visits and our chats. He was a quiet, thoughtful man.”
Mr Gore Rees served the Diocese of St Asaph from 1955-83 before becoming the vicar of Bickerton in Cheshire.
North East Wales coroner John Gittins confirmed a post-mortem examination at Wrexham Maelor Hospital last Wednesday gave the provisional cause of death as asphyxiation by hanging.
Mr Gore Rees’ funeral was held at Northop Parish Church last Friday and was followed by a service at Pentrebychan Crematorium near Wrexham.
