TRIBUTES have been paid to a much-loved figure of Hatherleigh life who died on Easter Monday.

The family of Dennis Bater announced with sadness that Dennis had died of coronavrius at the age of 79.

Dennis had been twice mayor of West Devon as well as mayor of Hatherleigh and gave generously of his time to local good causes, including the Devon Air Ambulance, Hatherleigh Rotary Club and Made-Well. He will also be remembered as a jolly Santa delivering presents at Hatherleigh and Highampton Primary Schools.

Current mayor of Tavistock Anne Johnson said she was ‘greatly saddened’ by his passing and that ‘not only have I lost a good friend but West Devon has lost one too’.

‘I got to know Dennis in 2007 when he was serving as mayor of West Devon Borough Council the first time I was mayor of Tavistock,’ she said. ‘We attended many events together, him showing me how to do things, offering advice and guidance when needed.

‘He had an enormous amount of local knowledge, great integrity and a fantastic sense of humour. We became great friends. I often contacted Dennis when I needed advice, it was always given freely. He always had a tale to tell and easily made friends all over the world.’

Having worked at Hatherleigh Market and been variously a fireman, a postman and fish and chip shop proprietor in his community, Dennis was loved and consulted by natives and visitors to the community alike. He was always ready to give visitors a tour of Hatherleigh.

He had a passion for history and stories and shared both as keeper of an archive of historical photographs, which he shared on his Facebook page at 6am every morning.

Born in Iddesleigh, he spent all his life in the area latterly living wih his second wife Carolyn in nearby Black Torrington.

He and his first wife, who died in 2004, ran The Plaice fish and chip shop in Hatherleigh and had three children. Garry and Nicola live locally with their partners and children, while daughter Lisa lives with her family in Perth, Australia.

Daughter Nicola Cook said: ‘We have been overwhelmed by all the kind things we have been reading on Facebook and everybody has a different story to tell about dad. It has been quite comforting to read everyone’s thoughts.’

Caitlin Kerr, one of Dennis’s eight grandchildren, paid tribute to her grandad, saying ‘he is so much more to us than just grandad. He was a hard-working, generous community-loving man’.

She said her grandad was unusually ‘Facebook-savvy’ for someone of his age, something confirmed by Monica Jones, secretary of Hatherleigh History Society, of which Dennis was chairman.

‘He had his own Facebook page and every morning at 6am would post one or two photographs, perhaps of Iddesleigh or of Hatherleigh, just something that he thought people would be interested in,’ she said.

‘He must have had nearly 1,000 followers, people he had met from all over the world. Dennis was the first person I turned to to ask who someone was. He knew everybody and he had a massive archive of photographs, a lot from his first wife’s family. It is thanks to Dennis that we have got such an amazing record of everything that has happened in Hatherleigh.’