Tributes paid to late former Lord Mayor Terry Crowe

Tributes have been paid to late city councillor and former Lord Mayor, Terry Crowe, who has died aged 75.

Trent Vale born Terry (main picture) was first elected to Stoke-on-Trent City Council in 1978 and served continuously on the council for 22 years up until May 2000, before returning for a second time in 2002 and most recently in 2011. He served in the cabinet, as Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regulation and Finance, Procurement and Commissioning before being named as Lord Mayor in 2012 in recognition of the good work he had done for the city. He was also an honorary Alderman on Staffordshire County Council.

Terry dedicated his time in office to helping and promoting those with disabilities – an area close to his heart after becoming disabled at the age of two by polio. Terry raised money for the North Staffordshire Prostate Cancer Support Group and Stoke-on-Trent Disabled Sports Association. During his year in office in 2012, he and Lady Mayoress Mrs Linda Crowe also invited the Czech Ambassador, Michael Žantovský to Stoke-on-Trent in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the Lidice atrocity and the ‘Lidice Shall Live’ campaign.

Former city council leader Barry Stockley had known Terry since the 1970s. Paying tribute to the 75-year-old, Barry, who was a councillor between 1982 and 2007, said: “I’ve known Terry since the 1970s and he has made a massive contribution to the community of Stoke-on-Trent. He was due to take over as chairman of Eaton Park Residents’ Association in January which shows how he was still giving up his time to make a difference and help others. Terry was always very active with helping and supporting minority groups and he truly believed in fairness for all, most recently supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. He was respected by everybody, even his political opponents who might have disagreed with him on certain issues, but they knew when he spoke he did so from the heart.”

Stoke-on-Trent Lord Mayor, Ross Irving said: “I had the honour of serving with Terry on the council for a long time and, although we didn’t always see eye-to-eye on political matters, he was a man of integrity. A community champion who fought for the rights of people in the city and a friend across the chamber. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time.”