A MEMORIAL service will be held next month to celebrate the life of a former Lord Mayor of Oxford who gave decades of service to the city.

Jean Fooks was made one of Oxford’s three honorary aldermen last November but died just two days later.

She served as Lord Mayor in 2017/18 and retired from politics in May 2018, leaving Oxford to live closer to family in Dulverton, Somerset. But she died seven months into her well-earned retirement.

A service of celebration and thanksgiving for Mrs Fooks’ life and work will be held at St Michael’s and All Angels Church in Summertown.

It is open to all and will be held from 2pm on Saturday, February 2.

Andrew Gant, group leader Liberal Democrat group leader on Oxford City Council, said: “We want this to be a celebration so all are very welcome. Jean worked with so many individuals and groups for such a long time.

"We want it to be an opportunity for the many people who knew and admired Jean here in Oxford.”

There is no formal dress code – but organisers urge all attendees to dress up colourfully.

Refreshments will be served straight after the service so Mrs Fooks’ friends will be able to meet.

When Mrs Fooks died, city council leader Susan Brown said she had left an ‘indelible mark’ on Oxford with her hard work.

In 2007, Mrs Fooks refused to cave into criticism over newly-introduced fortnightly bin collections when she was the city council’s executive member for a cleaner city.

Recycling rates rose as a result of the policy and the Oxford Mail compared her to Margaret Thatcher for her tenacity.

Mrs Fooks served as a city councillor from 1992 until last May and as a county councillor from 2001 until 2017.

At County Hall, she represented the Cherwell, Summertown and Wolvercote divisions.

She was unafraid to oppose her own Liberal Democrat party if she thought it the right thing to do – and then face the consequences.

In 2001, she was booted out of her job as chairwoman of the city council’s highways committee. Mrs Fooks was opposed to a council plan to which sought to increase park and ride fees from 50p to £1.

At the time, the Oxford Mail said pressure on her had ‘bordered on the intolerable’.

Shortly after she died, former Lib Dem colleague Graham Jones said: “Jean was the embodiment of public service. Personal and party interests came second to what was best for the people she represented."

Mrs Fooks first arrived in Oxford in 1958, studying physics at Somerville College.

She went onto form a close bond with the college and it still hosts an annual lecture in memory of one her daughters, Monica, who died in 1994.

Anyone who hopes to attend the service is asked to email Lizzie Hawkins at Oxford City Council’s civic office at lhawkins@oxford.gov.uk