A SERVICE of celebration and remembrance will pay tribute today to Wilfred Rooke, former chairman of Buckinghamshire County Council and a founding member of the Urenco Group.

He was a county councillor for Marlow from 1977 until 1989, and spent the final four years chairing its meetings.

Mr Rooke was chairman of governors at the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe and Great Marlow School in Marlow and spent 10 years as chairman of the operations committee at Longridge boating centre.

In 1989 he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and in 2001 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at what was then Buckinghamshire and Chilterns University College.

He died at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough last Wednesday, aged 86, following a period of illness during which he lived at Brook House nursing home in Wooburn Green.

Bill Chapple, current deputy leader of the council, said: "I can well remember his period in office, especially his time as chairman, which he took extremely seriously.

"He was a true gentleman, enigmatic and very honest.

"He was a man with the rare ability to listen carefully and sympathetically to problems, and the wisdom to see the wider picture.

"Not surprisingly he was liked by all.

"Wilfred dedicated a large part of his life to public service and was someone I had the great honour to work with. He will be greatly missed by us all."

Wilfred Rooke was born in New Cross, London, on September 29, 1921 - the older brother of Sir Dennis Rooke, who went on to become chairman of British Gas.

He attended Addey and Stanhope School before training as an industrial chemist. During World War Two, he worked for the Ministry of Defence dismantling foreign ammunition.

In 1940, his work took him on a trip to Lancashire where he met Barbara, whom he married when the war ended in 1945.

The couple moved to Cambridgeshire, where Wilfred worked for Ciba-Geigy aero research.

They had a daughter, Leslie, in 1952 and son Peter in 1956.

Leslie now lives in Wokingham where she works as a school bursar and is mother to Michael, 23, and Andrew, 21. Peter is head of safety for major projects at Sellafield nuclear power station in Cumbria.

A short spell working in Warrington, Cheshire, for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority saw Wilfred take regular business trips to Japan, which he enjoyed.

But it was in 1972 that the family moved to Thamesfield Gardens, Marlow, as Wilfred was employed to set up the head office of Urenco nuclear generation company in Oxford Road, Marlow.

He remained there are company secretary until he retired in 1986.

His wife, Barbara said: "He was a very strong character, but he was always very kind and always a gentleman. He was very interested in his family and what they were doing and his grandchildren, especially their education.

"He was always interested in giving something back and the social side of life. He never wasted any time."

He became a member of the Wycombe Male Orpheus Choir and the Historic Churches Trust and continued to be a keen sportsman and sports supporter.

A family funeral will take place this morning.

This afternoon, a service of celebration and remembrance will be held at All Saints Church in The Causeway, Marlow at 3pm, which is open to everyone.