A former building society boss and hotelier has died aged 74.
Gerald Hey owned the then Three Sisters Hotel at Haworth for a decade, until 2002. But he had begun his working life at the Bingley Building Society – later to merge with the Bradford – joining as a 15-year-old from school.
After national service in Northern Ireland, he opened – at the age of 27 – a branch of the Skipton Building Society at Bingley. He went on to open branches in Keighley and Bradford before ending his career with the society, as commercial lending manager, at its head office.
Mr Hey then bought Bunkers Hill Farm, at Exley Head, and went into business rearing calves, pigs, sheep and turkeys.
The final 10 years of his working life prior to retirement were spent at the Three Sisters, which he built into a thriving and popular venue for functions.
His wife of 47 years, Glenis, said: “He was very well known. He gave a lot of people in Keighley their first mortgage when other societies wouldn’t. And he was always happy to give people advice, whatever time of day or night they contacted him.”
He leaves his wife, two sons and two grandsons.
The funeral service took place at Exley Head Methodist Chapel last Thursday.
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