Family pay tribute to former Rugby mayor Keith Judge who died after short illness

Keith Judge, who was mayor of Rugby from 1980-81, died aged 91 on March 24.

Paying tribute, his family wrote: "After a short illness our beloved father Ernest Keith Judge of Long Lawford and Rugby died.

"Known by all who met him as Keith he was born in Newmarket, Suffolk and was the eldest of eight children, three brothers Ian, John and Dick and four sisters, Sheila, Judith, Andelene and Vivian.

"Keith moved to Long Lawford in the 1930s where he spent his childhood and went on to raise his family and build his business.

"Enlisted into the Army in 1946, Keith served in Palestine and returned home during active service to marry Mary.

"They set up home in Long Lawford where they had three children, Jane, Alison and Keith.

"On leaving the Army, he set up a business partnership and went on to build several houses in Lawford and Rugby - this full life was to set him up for his future ventures.

"During this time Keith took advantage of the government scheme to emigrate to Australia.

"He wrote a book about his experiences and challenges and eventually returned to Lawford - this time setting up a building company on his own.

"Throughout this period, he got deeply involved in village life and was consistently engaged in supporting and raising the profile of the local community.

"This resulted in him being elected to Long Lawford Parish Council in 1971 where he went on to become a borough councillor, a trustee of the Edward Boughton Charities and chairman of the Rugby branch of the Royal Warwicks.

"In 1980 Keith was elected mayor of Rugby, which he described as the 'most memorable time of my life'.

"Visits to Buckingham Palace, the House of Commons and the House of Lords were part of his wide-ranging civic engagements enabling him to meet many varied and interesting people.

"An enthusiastic gardener, combined with a keen interest in genealogy led Keith to research his family tree back to 1650.

"Being the pre-internet and computer age this took him to many churches, graveyards and Somerset House culminating in his book Looking Back.

"During this time, he also found the energy to write another book intriguingly called The Murder at Lawford Hall.

"On retirement Keith got to spend a lot of time travelling in the UK and abroad with his beloved wife Mary.

"Mary died on the 15th December 2014 and Keith continued his love of travel and explored many countries.

"One thing many people will remember Keith for will be his forthright letter writing to the local papers.

"Sometimes perceived as controversial or amusing – depending on your view – he was forever honest and straight to the point.

"This meant he was respected by many even those who didn’t always agree with him.

"Keith will be hugely missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him, from his immediate family to his wider friends and support network. He will always have a special and memorable place in our hearts.

"We plan to hold a celebration of Keith’s life in the near future where we can give him the proper send off this remarkable man deserves."