Tributes to well-known character

7:38pm Friday 30th May 2008

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A WELL-KNOWN Worcestershire estate agent and auctioneer, with a passion for gardening and the countryside, has died aged 69 after a long illness.

Philip Laney was born in Birmingham but moved to Worcester when he was two years old. He went to Sunnyside and King's Junior schools before boarding at a school in Shropshire.

He was apprenticed to a firm of auctioneers and surveyors in Worcester in 1956 and qualified in 1962.

By 1966 he had set up his own business and entered into a 20-year partnership with Richard Jolley to create the well-known firm of Philip Laney and Jolley. They had offices in Worcester, Malvern, Pershore and Hereford.

Mr Laney left the business about 10 years ago to set up his own separate auction room in Malvern and then worked as a consultant for Doorbars in Worcester.

Mr Laney was closely involved with Worcester Baptist Church, Sansome Walk, for most of his live and held a number of positions in the community including a trustee of the Baptist House, a trustee of Rockwood's Mission, a volunteer for the probation service and a member of the local review committee at Long Lartin Prison.

He was also a keen gardener and loved the countryside, aspiring to be a farmer at one time.

His son Richard said: "He was a keen gardener and particularly vegetable gardening.

"He really would have liked to have been a farmer. He had about 60 or 80 sheep at one point. It got to be a bit more than a hobby.

"He was always interested in the countryside and he loved rural Worcestershire."

Mr Laney died peacefully at home on Monday after battling against cancer for two and a half years. He leaves a widow Shelagh and two sons Richard and Stephen.

A funeral service will take place at Worcester Baptist Church, Sansome Walk, on Wednesday at 2.15pm followed by a committal at Worcester Crematorium.

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