A memorial bench has been placed in a park in remembrance of two well respected and missed councillors.
Cllr Paul Wild died on December 27 in 2020, aged 76, after being diagnosed with cancer, and his wife Christine died suddenly in February 2020.
Cllr Wild had been an Astley Bridge councillor for nine years, he was elected in 2011 and, along with his wife, was much admired by family, friends and other councillors.
His wife had been a councillor from 2008 and served until 2012 becoming councillor for Westhoughton North and Chew Moor before regaining her seat in 2016.
The memorial bench is on Andrew Lane Park.
Close friend Cllr Hilary Fairclough said: “I am really pleased that we haver been able to achieve Cllr Wild’s memorial bench service.
“He worked to the very end.”
Cllr Fairclough recalled that on Boxing Day, when Cllr Wild was hours away from dying, there was a parking issue in the town as people complained they were getting booked on what they thought was a bank holiday.
Cllr Wild asked if Cllr Fairclough needed any help and even rang her later to ask how she had got on regarding the issue.
Cllr Fairclough said: “He was working so very hard right to the end and that was typical of him.
“He was a man of huge integrity, so it was a huge privilege to celebrate his life and achievements.
“He was a close friend of mine and I do not know a single person that has anything bad to say about Paul.”
Cllr Wild was said to be devoted to Bolton Wanderers, Bolton and Astley Bridge.
But his greatest love was his wife, who he described as his ‘soulmate’.
She served as a ward councillor for Westhoughton North and Chew Moor and as Bolton Council's Cabinet Member for Children's Service.
The couple had been married for 54 years, getting wed in 1966 on the day England won the World Cup.
Cllr Fairclough said: “Christine and I have been friends for over 35 years, through thick and thin. She was the sister I never had.
“I will miss her guidance, her friendship, and her naughty sense of humour. It was a privilege to call her my friend.”
Cllr Wild started his working life at Greenshield Stamps and Refuge Insurance but worked for much of his life in newspapers, including at The Bolton News for many years.
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