Town stalwart mourned
Bernard Besbrode
TRIBUTES have been paid to the president of Harborough Civic Society who died.
Bernard Besbrode (76) died on Thursday, June 7, of heart failure.
Mr Besbrode was born in London but his family moved to Leicester where he grew up.
He moved to Harborough 25 years ago with his wife Jenny and quickly became an active member of the community.
Mrs Besbrode said her husband was a trade unionist and was active within the Jewish community in Leicester where he was at one point the chairman of the Liberal and Progressive Synagogue.
He was also involved with Harborough Improvement Team, Harborough Theatre and the Probus club.
She said: “He was passionate about helping people and standing up for the underdog.”
Mr Besbrode joined the Market Harborough Civic Society soon after moving to Harborough and he had been the chairman of the branch for eight years but stood down recently.
Mrs Besbrode said members of the branch made him president before he died.
John Tillotson, current chairman of the society paid tribute to Mr Besbrode saying that he had driven the society forward to deal with important planning applications.
He said: “He was very good at taking a meeting and had a very good sense of humour that could enlighten a dull meeting and he will be missed.”
Mr Besbrode formerly worked as a teacher at Judge Meadow in Leicester where he taught History, Geography and Sociology.
His passion for teaching was also evident in Harborough where he was the chair of governors at Ridgeway School until last year.
Mrs Besbrode said that her husband also worked in the printing business where he was brilliant at proofreading and spelling.
Jane Tugwell, of Harborough Museum, said: “Bernard was a frequent visitor to the Harborough Museum.
“His very active involvement with the awarding of the Citizenship cup which is on display at the museum was what we will most remember him for. His dedication and enthusiasm will be sadly missed.”
Bob Hakewill, town historian paid tribute to his friend.
He said: “To me Bernard was always a jolly, overweight, bundle of good humour who always wanted to join in and help. He seemed to be incapable of sitting on any sidelines doing nothing.”
Mrs Besbrode said that her husband was a keen bridge player, teacher of the game and was also a “computer buff”.
She said: “I know he just loved living in Market Harborough. He really did like Market Harborough and he was proud to belong to this town.
“We just had so many friends here. He was proud of the town.”
He is survived by his wife Jenny, his children Susan, Jon and David, his step-children Steven and Lucy and nine grandchildren.
Mrs Besbrode said: “I would like to pay tribute to the medical centre and the University hospitals that helped him manage his condition so that he was living a high quality of life for several years.”
His cremation will be at Kettering Crematorium on Tuesday at 2.15pm.
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Weather for Market Harborough
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Today
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Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
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