Former Wodonga mayor Les Boyes has been remembered as a stalwart for the city who fought passionately for its success.
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The 93 year-old died on Friday, June 8, after a sudden illness and a lifetime of service to Wodonga through organisations ranging from Rotary to the CFA.
His highest profile role was mayor.
Mr Boyes led the city in 1984-85 and again in 1991-92 during a 20-year term on the Rural City of Wodonga before it was recast following council amalgamations in the 1990s.
He was the only former Wodonga councillor to win a seat on the new council in 1997 and served until 2003.
Current mayor Ron Mildren first had contact with Mr Boyes when, as a boy, he would ride his bike to his predecessor's Willow Park dairy farm and fill a billy with milk.
"He was a gentleman, he worked hard and tirelessly for all sorts of things, including the best interests of our community," Cr Mildren said.
"He was pretty much a stalwart, he was involved in many, many things, not just local government."
Mr Boyes was on the boards of the Hume Building Society and Westmont Aged Care, at the time it was formed through a merger of Westlands Hostel and Vermont Court.
He was also involved in the formation of Victory Lutheran College in west Wodonga, being an adherent of the Protestant faith based on the theology of Martin Luther.
Former councillor Terry Corcoran, who was deputy mayor to Mr Boyes in 1991-92 and then succeeded him as leader, recalled another educational institution that was established in Wodonga in 1991 after his advocacy.
"He wanted Wodonga to succeed and everything to be there in place," Mr Corcoran said.
"He was a real campaigner for La Trobe University and he was very passionate about sport and facilities such as the indoor pool (at Wodonga's leisure centre)."
Born on May 14, 1931, Mr Boyes was the middle of three children and born to a family whose ancestors were among the earliest to farm at Leneva.
He grew up at Willow Park in Wodonga, which he farmed before it was sold to the Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation for housing and parkland in 1974.
In October 1953 he married Nancy Vincent at St Matthew's Anglican Church in Albury and they had two children John in 1954 and Christine in 1956.
The Boyes joined two other families in forming RBR Party Hire, a company still in existence, and Mr Boyes partnered with Bill Richardson to build Astra House, an office complex on the corner of Elgin Boulevard and Hovell Street.
Upon his departure from Wodonga Council in 2003, Mr Boyes reflected it was a good time to leave and emphasised the unity of the representatives before summing up his experience in a sentence.
"Being on the council puts a load on the family and it is time for some other things, but I wouldn't have missed any of it though," Mr Boyes said.
Funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised for Mr Boyes, who is survived by his wife, children, six grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
