THE son of two former councillors who died weeks apart has spoken about his devastating year in which he lost both parents and his brother.

The first female council leader, Barbara Ronson, died just five weeks before her husband Bob, a ward councillor and former Horwich mayor.

Rob, who is named after his father, also lost his younger brother Michael in June following a series of illnesses.

He told The Bolton News: "If someone had told me at the start of this year that it was the last family Christmas I'd ever have, I would have thought it was some kind of sick joke."

The Liberal Democrats' power couple rose in the council's ranks in the nineties before their party became the largest and Barbara became leader.

But Rob, aged 54, said that he and his brother Michael did not realise how well-respected their parents were in the town when they were growing up.

He said: "It's just something they did since we were teenagers. We realised the scale of things when mum became mayor and dad was her consort. We realised what level of respect and what achievements they had."

The couple both worked full-time until the early 2000s when their civic commitments became their day jobs. After completing his National Service in the RAF, Bob worked as a British Aerospace employee and radio and television service engineer, while Barbara, who was a teacher, brought up their two children.

They retired from their civic duties together in 2011 when they were admitted by the council as honorary aldermen of the borough.

Some years later, Barbara suffered an aortic bypass and Bob rapidly developed dementia. By the time their son died, aged 52, Barbara was quite ill but Rob says she never stayed still.

He said: "She never abandoned the other causes. She was still up to her neck in the Poppy Appeal right up to the end. There was no question that she lived a 100 per cent fulfilled life."

She died on October 28 and received a civic funeral in Horwich two weeks later. Bob attended the funeral, accompanied by staff from Mill View care home who said he became a bit tearful.

Rob said: "His condition protected him in many ways but also made him extremely vulnerable to what was going on."

The 83-year-old died on December 3 after a battle with dementia and a lung condition. Rob said the tributes to the couple have been "absolutely breathtaking".

He said: "I'm so proud. To see a church full beyond capacity was in itself an indictment for the level of respect that mum gained and the level of love from the people she did so much for, for so long."

A civic funeral for Bob will take place on Monday, the day after Barbara would have turned 76.