BOWLS club co-founder Ron Porter has died after a short illness aged 87.

Ronald Leonard Porter, who was described as Mr Poole Park BC and more recently Mr Dolphin by his bowling friends was a high standard county bowler both indoors and outdoors.

Ron joined the Poole Park Bowling Club in 1967 after his job in the oil industry moved him from Bristol to Poole. He became its president 17 years later in the club's 75th anniversary year.

In 1973 Ron and D. Carrier, E.F. Balston and K. Edmonds were English Bowling Association Four Champions for the club.

Ron's other club achievements included the Bournemouth Open Bowls Tournament winners in 1987, and two years later, the Dorset Triples Champions and was a semi-finalists in the English Bowling Association National Triples.

In 1990 Ron was a Dorset Triples finalist and an English Bowling Association Triples semi-finalist. A year later he was a Dorset Fours finalist, winning the Fours five years later.

In 1994 Ron played in Dorset's successful Middleton Cup run to the National Championships semi final at Worthing where Dorset lost to Cumbria by the narrowest of margins.

He was also in the 1990 Middleton Cup Team that lost to Yorkshire in the National Championships final at Worthing, in a rink that consisted of three Poole Park players and one Branksome Park player.

Six years later Ron was in the Poole Park DCBA County Fours winning rink which represented Dorset in the National Championship finals at Worthing.

Ron was selected for Dorset's Middleton Cup for many years as a Skip and was also chosen as Skip for Dorset's Liberty Cup team.

In 1982 Ron, Jim King, Ray Harmsworth and Cyril Taylor had a dream of setting up the first indoor bowls club in Poole, the nearest indoor green was in Christchurch. After regular meetings in Wimborne and the financial support of 400 bowlers, Poole Council and a benefactor, the Dolphin Indoor Bowls Club opened three years later. Today the club is the largest of its kind in the country with a membership of 1000.

Ron was secretary, life president and on the board at the Dolphin Club. He was described by one of his friends as 'one of life's nice guys' and someone who was respected by all. He is survived by his wife Marion and children David and Alison.

His funeral will be held at Poole Crematorium on February 22 at 1.30pm, followed by a wake at the Dolphin Indoor Bowls Club.