Burt Jones’ family paid tribute to him and said they have been touched by messages of support after the dad-of-five’s death
Burt Jones’ family paid tribute to him and said they have been touched by messages of support after the dad-of-five’s death
A man who was affectionately known as “Mr Ormskirk” despite not even living in the area has died just weeks before he was finally set to retire. Burt Jones, born in Litherland, left school when he was just 15 years old before starting at Coombes in Bootle and then moving onto the County Road store in Walton.
Following stints in Wigan and Manchester, Burt, who was married to Beryl, eventually settled at the Ormskirk branch of then Mister Minit, which had acquired Coombes before it was eventually bought out by Timpson, in the 70s. It was here he became known by the people of the tight-knit market town as “Mr Ormskirk”, with his son, Peter, telling the ECHO how he would often come home and speak of the people he had met in work.
When asked what his dad was like as a person, Peter said: “He was quirky, I think that’s probably the best way to describe him. He was full of jokes and he was known for his puns. He would get them into conversation and he didn’t stop. He would just go on.
“He was great with words.”
Peter, who is the second eldest of Burt and Beryl’s five children, moved to Perth in Australia more than 30 years ago and had travelled back to Liverpool to see his family for his 60th birthday with his wife, Niki.
After travelling down to London this week ahead of their flight home on Thursday morning, Peter received a call to say his dad had died suddenly on Wednesday night.
The family believe the cause of death was a heart attack, although this has not been confirmed, with the 81-year-old due to retire from his job at Timpson in Ormskirk on his 82nd birthday on March 14.
Speaking to the ECHO from his home in Australia, the retired firefighter said: “He was determined, he would never give up. He was very good at 400m running in school and on his 40th birthday I took him out for a run. He had to stop after a mile and then a few years later he really got into it. Three years later he completed a half marathon and then he completed a marathon.
“After that he completed several marathons. He had that dogged determination. He always had that natural ability that I never had.
“Before I moved to Australia I was a firefighter over here and he was a member of the fire service run club and he took great pride in that.
“His training was running to work, doing a day at work, and then either getting the train home or run back.”
Following the sudden death, a post was shared in the ‘Ormskirk News’ Facebook group where more than 100 comments have been shared of fond memories and well wishes for Burt’s wife Beryl, as well as his five children.
Peter said the comments have given the family a lift. He said: “For us to see these comments, the comments are a real lift. It was his life to work there. They became his community despite not living there. It kept him busy and it kept him going.
“He would come home and tell his tales of who he had spoken to and who had been in the shop that day.”
He added: “We had been trying to get him to retire but he he was just so loyal to the company. Every week I would speak to him and he would say he was going to retire.
“I don’t think he wanted to but it was his birthday next month and he had finally said he would retire. The job kept him going for so long and he enjoyed it. He loved his trips to Australia, and he loved his cruises. I’m sure he was looking forward to going on another one.”
During their childhood, Peter told the ECHO how he and his siblings had all taken it in turns going in of a weekend to help their dad at Coombes, then Mr Minit, however middle child Chris has carried on his dad’s work.
Peter said Chris has been working in Timpson himself for upwards of 30 years, with him employed in the Southport branch.
The funeral for Burt is expected to take place next month, with Peter flying over to say goodbye to his dad who had been fondly known by much of the Ormskirk and Burscough.
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