Obituary: Jack Room dies at 102 (From Witney Gazette)

Obituary: Jack Room dies at 102

12:57pm Friday 11th January 2008 in Witney By David Horne

ONE of Witney's old characters, Jack Room, has died at the age of 102.

He was a distinctive figure around the town, riding a moped and almost always wearing a green beret.

He was also well-known to cricket players across the county as one of the organisers of the annual Witney's Swifts tournament, the first limited-overs knockout competition in the county.

He never married, and in his later years lived at Elm Close, Witney, with a niece.

Mr Room was born at Oxford Hill, Witney, and lived in the town all his life. When he was 14, he left Cogges School to work as a clerk for insurance company FM Green until his retirement in 1972.

Ian Richens, managing director of the Market Square office, said: "We bought the business off him, but he was always welcome.

"We kept a desk for him till he stopped riding his moped in 1997. He came in and had a chat and met some of his older clients, most of course who have now passed on."

When he was a boy, he joined the Witney Boys Brigade, and continued to support them throughout his life, coming to annual inspections.

Alan Clack, brigade spokesman, said: "He was one of the great Witney characters. I remember, even on boiling hot summer days, you would see him in his thick Harris tweed suit."

Mr Room had a lifelong connection to the town's Methodist Church, and helped set up a teenage social club there, called the Malthouse Club.

For decades, he was also well-known at The Leys cricket ground, where he came round with a collection box to raise funds for the Swifts knockout tournament. In its heyday, it attracted evening crowds of several thousand spectators.

Gordon Clack, cricket equipment supplier, who lives at Ducklington, recalled: "He virtually kept it going. Top teams from all over the county came to play.

"He could be a bit grumpy at times, but he had a heart of gold."

On his 100th birthday, Mr Room put down his being a lifelong teetotaller as a main reason for his ripe old age. The funeral took place on January 4, at the town's High Street Methodist Church.