John Rowlands, a stalwart and influential member of the Devauden community, sadly passed away on 13th August at the age of 85.

John grew up in Sketty and worked as a senior manager at Woolworths for much of his working life. In 1990 John and his wife Carol moved to Churchfields in Devauden and soon became well known locally for being active members of our village.

Following his retirement from Woolworths John threw himself into working for the community. As well as being Chair of the village hall committee, he was also a member of the Community Council and School Governor at Chepstow Comprehensive School. He will be remembered by everyone in Devauden for his tireless work, endless enthusiasm and for the outstanding contribution he made to all the bodies he served on.

John is particularly well known for his involvement with the village hall. During his tenure as Chair of the committee he played a key role in driving forward many innovative projects and events. His leadership skills were a huge asset and John attributed much of the phenomenal success of the hall during that time to the strategy that had been adopted at Woolworths years earlier – provide good value for money and people will come back time and time again. In truth John’s infectious enthusiasm, good humour and his ability to make sure that everyone felt welcome was equally valuable.

Before succumbing to Parkinson’s Disease in his eighties, John was an avid hillwalker and he undertook many adventurous long-distance hikes including Camino de Santiago, Kilimanjaro, Machu Pichu, and several trips to the Himalayas. He combined his love of walking with his philanthropy by using these trips to raise money for several charities, such as Children in Crisis.

Another charity close to John’s heart was Street Voices, an organisation that helps children living on the streets of Hanoi. John made trips to Vietnam to help this charity and he fell in love with the country.

John’s outstanding contributions were recognised in 2016 when he was awarded the British Empire Medal for his voluntary and charitable services both in Wales and abroad.

Many of John’s friends in Devauden will remember him as a devoted fan of Welsh rugby and the Dragons. He followed the team across Europe on many occasions and would celebrate their win, or commiserate their loss, with a Bloody Mary or two.

John lived life to the full and will be greatly missed by all his family and friends. 

John's funeral was held on Thursday 11th September at 12:30pm at Devauden Church and the eulogy by his friend John Brooks can be read here.

Thanks to John Brooks, Hugh Mason and Viv Rowlands for their help with this article.