HE WORKED tirelessly for many years to help make Preston Road a better place for residents to live.
Now, family, friends and community leaders are remembering Alan Armitage, who has died after battling lung cancer.
Alan was a director of Probe, a not-for-profit organisation that helps residents and businesses in east Hull.
He was instrumental in the creation of the Freedom Centre, where he sat on the board.
His son, Marc, 49, said: "When my dad retired he did so much for the local community. He also took gardening and cookery courses and completed a maths qualification.
"He went in the Freedom Centre every day for his lunch and has really made an impact in Preston Road, where he was born and bred.
"My dad was a quiet man but was determined to make a difference and he even set up a memorial in his street for civilians killed during the Second World War."
Marc said Alan was involved in the Territorial Army and cadets in Hull for about 30 years and had a number of different jobs as a young man.
He was first an apprentice painter and decorator, before working as an apprentice electrician and a machinist engineer at Priestman Brothers in Hull for 25 years.
He was married to the late Ivy Armitage.
He is also survived by two step-sisters, Sandra and Karen.
Marc said: "My dad was only diagnosed with cancer at the end of October. We lost him a lot quicker than we anticipated.
"But he still went to meetings and once broke his hip during one with John Prescott, they were good friends.
"He just got up to get a cup of coffee and fell over and ended up in hospital, it was a talking point for quite a while.
"My dad will be missed by a lot of people. He was well-known in east Hull.
"It's nice that the Freedom Centre is hosting an event for him later this month in his memory.
"A lot of people will be there and it will be a great send-off."
Alan's life will be celebrated at the centre on Friday, from 12.45pm, and the funeral cortege will be led to Chanterlands Crematorium for 2pm.
Do you have a story from the Holderness Road area? If so, e-mail katy.forrester@mailnewsmedia.co.uk or call 01482 315105.
