David Taylor, the last mayor of Ossett, has died aged 85

David, who spent his entire life in Ossett, was a proud member of the community and supported numerous local causes.

In 1984, he founded a successful studwelding business, Taylor Studwelding Systems Ltd, but his first love was his family.

Daughter Teresa said: “Dad was successful in everything he did, but he always said that his family were his greatest achievement.”

David was born in 1941 and attended Flushdyke Junior and Infant School and Ossett Grammar School.

He met Joan, his wife of almost 65 years, at a Saturday night dance at Dewsbury Town Hall. The couple had two daughters, Teresa and Heather, five grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. Heather is the joint MD of Taylor Studwelding with her nephew, Andrew.

David began his working life as an electrician in the mines, with stints at Walton and Thornhill. When the pits began closing, he got a job as an electrical engineer in studwelding with Crompton Parkinson.

Heather said: “He became an area sales manager for the firm but decided he could do it a bit better, so he did.”

David and Joan set up Taylor Studwelding in a small workshop in Dewsbury and moved to their current premises on Commercial Road.

David loved sport; he played cricket for Wortley and Leeds, football for Ossett Common Rovers, and he also enjoyed squash and fell walking in the Yorkshire Dales.

In the early 1970s, David became an Ossett Borough councillor and in 1974 was the last mayor of Ossett. For several years after this, he served on Wakefield Council as the Ossett and Gawthorpe councillor and was the first chairman of social services.

Joan said: “David was a socialist and cared deeply for charities that helped the homeless and those relying on food banks. He was also a nature lover and was always feeding the birds in our garden.

“He wanted to give something back and supported the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. He asked us to sponsor trees instead of gifts, and there are now 250 of them in the woods around the Yorkshire Dales.

Heather said: “Throughout his life, Dad remained deeply involved in the company he built. He took great pride not only in the products and services the business provides, but also in the people who make it what it is.

“Many members of the Taylor Studwelding team worked alongside him for decades, and he valued the company as an extended family.”

The service is to take place at Dewsbury Moor Crematorium on Wednesday, April 8, at 12.30pm.

The family have requested that donations, instead of flowers, should be made to Wakefield Hospice, where David spent his final days.

Heather said: “The staff at Wakefield hospice treated dad with great love, respect and dignity, and we’d cannot thank them enough for what they did for him in his final few days.”