He was known as Mr Blacon and was loved and revered by large sections of the community throughout Chester. But this week, Joe Rose passed away, prompting an outpouring of affectionate tributes. In this special report, ALLISON DICKINSON looks at a man who was truly a local hero

JOE Rose - known to many as Mr Blacon after dedicating his life to improving his community - has died.

Joe passed away on Tuesday at Pinetum Nursing Home in Chester after a short illness. He was 86.

As chairman of Blacon Community Trust (BCT), he was responsible for numerous projects which have raised thousands of pounds and benefited every section of the Blacon community from youngsters to the elderly.

Manager of BCT, Judi Sellwood, has worked alongside Joe since 1992, when he interviewed her for the job.

She said: “Joe was a very inspirational person because of his passion; he was totally committed to the project, as he called it, but his passion extended beyond that to Blacon as a whole.

“He would do anything to help anybody if he could see they were trying to help themselves and help the people of Blacon.”

Joe, a former railway worker who was a social worker later in life, had lived in Blacon since moving to the area in 1953 with his late wife Ethel, and he had been involved with BCT for more than two decades.

He attended his first meeting of the then Blacon Project in 1987, when Ethel wanted to apply for a grant to start a tea dance but was too nervous to go and has been a familiar face in the organisation ever since.

Judi added: “He has been involved in so many different things over the years and he was particularly passionate about giving young people a chance.

“He was very fair-minded and always made people feel welcome and he loved to take time to listen to people.”

Joe’s achievements include establishing a successful after-school club and the development of the Blacon Young Person’s Project, for which he and his volunteers received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2004.

After meeting Her Majesty and Prince Philip at St James’s Palace, Joe said the experience was something he would never forget, and he was also thrilled to meet the Prince of Wales when he paid a visit to Blacon in 2009.

Joe was at the helm when the Blacon Project moved from its old base in Maitland Way to the former Dee Point Infant School building in 1995 and became known as Blacon Community Trust.

Two years after the move, he was awarded a Director of the Year award in the Social Enterprise Awards for his pioneering leadership in transforming the trust.

When Joe celebrated his 80th birthday, he asked guests at his birthday party to forget about presents and give a donation to the Blacon Mini Bus Appeal.

The event raised more than £5,000.

At the time, Joe said: “When you have got friends like this, you can live forever.”

That sentiment came true in 2006 when the great-grandfather secured his place as a Blacon legend by having two streets named after him, Rose Close and Rose Terrace.

Judi said: “I have had lots of emails and calls from people who have worked with him to say what a loss it has been for Blacon and what an honourable, passionate man he was.

“He was so interested in knowing how we could grow and develop so we could help people. He will be sadly missed.”