THE Reverend Raymond Jones, vicar at St Katherine’s Church in Southbourne for 13 years, died peacefully on October 11, aged 85.

Mr Jones started his career at King’s College, London, where he studied theology, before being ordained in 1955 and taking up his first post at Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire.

He had undertaken two years of National Service in the Royal Air Force, and in the years before university he did casual work as a building labourer.

After a two-year spell at Wooburn Green in 1958, Mr Jones moved to Bournemouth for the first time, where he become curate at St Katherine’s Church.

His first appointment as vicar was at Eye in Suffolk, and then in 1977 his second was at Ufford, also in Suffolk.

But in 1982, 16 years after leaving Southbourne for the first time, Mr Jones was back as vicar of St Katharine’s Church and of St Nicholas’ in Southbourne-on-Sea, and was inducted by the Archdeacon of Winchester.

During his early years in the parish the church was struggling with a cash crisis, facing a deficit of £3,000, with cuts already made to heating and a local magazine.

Through appeals for donations made to his congregation of nearly 300, Mr Jones was gradually able to turn the church’s fortunes around.

Another early scheme was an appeal to 60 parishioners to fill the role of ‘acting curates’, carrying out door-to-door visits.

He welcomed laws to strengthen the institution of marriage in 1988, and urged the church to do more to help inner city renewal and the needy in Bournemouth town centre.

After a youth spent as an occasional labourer, Mr Jones was back behind the controls of a digger in 1991 for the laying of foundations of a new £200,000 church annexe.

The centre, paid for by the sale of the old church hall, had a range of up-to-date facilities including meeting rooms and a kitchen.

Mr Jones retired in 1994, with plans to move to Christchurch and revive some old and long-put off hobbies.

In 2001, he was the guest of honour at celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone at St Nicholas’.

Beloved husband to Lorna, he leaves his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

A funeral service was held at St Katherine’s on October 31.