Tributes to 'truly exceptional' Bill

Published 10 Aug 2010 15:50 1 Comment

TRIBUTES have been made following the death of former councillor and community stalwart Bill O'Sullivan.

Mr Sullivan, of Kelty, died peacefully at the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline on Friday morning following a battle with cancer. He was 59.

As general manager of Trans Fife Community Transport, Mr O'Sullivan had pioneered transport schemes to help improve accessibility and mobility for people with disabilities.

The former councillor also established innovative projects to help people access work by renting cars and learning to drive.

The transport element of the out of hours doctors service was also established by Mr O'Sullivan.

It was one of only few such services to be delivered through a social enterprise across the country.

Last week the Times reported how Mr Sullivan had been thanked personally by the community, including former PM Gordon Brown, for 30 voluntary service to the community.

This week, Mr Brown led tributes to the man he called a "truly exceptional" community leader.

"Bill O'Sullivan will be missed by so many for he gave so much of his life to supporting and helping others," he said.

"As a councillor on Dunfermline District and then Fife Council he fought hard to bring improvement to the area, but it was his contribution through the voluntary sector that was truly exceptional.

"He supported and set up many local organisations where he saw there was a need and over the 20 years that I knew Bill his drive for fairness and social justice never wavered.

"My deepest condolences are for his wife Margaret, his children and his grandchildren whom I know lit up his life and will miss him so much."

Fife Council Labour leader Alex Rowley also paid tribute to Mr O'Sullivan's energy which he said inspired the many people he came across.

He said, "Bill was quite simply one of life's good guys who always saw the positive and was an inspiration for so many political and community activists".

Speaking on behalf of the voluntary sector in Fife, CVS general manager Bryan Poole said that the voluntary sector would now be 'poorer' for Bill's loss.

He said, "Bill O'Sullivan made an outstanding contribution to the lives of many people through his work as a councillor, his ground breaking work in Fife's voluntary sector bringing new ideas that transformed community transport and social enterprise driven by his personal commitment to fairness and equality.

"His loss will be felt deeply by many people in the Central Fife area and our thoughts are with his family at this time."

The funeral is tomorrow (Thursday) at Dunfermline Crematorium.

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  helena
  Unregistered User
  Aug 11, 20:07
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  sorry to hear about the death of this lovely man, met him whilst i was doin my college work at brag, what a genuine human being, very few men like this in the world today, he will be sadly missed, my condolences go to his family at this very sad time
  
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