Tributes Paid After Death of Councillor

Thame Town Council was shocked and deeply saddened on Monday following the sudden death of Councillor Helena Fickling. Cllr Fickling passed away on Sunday 10 November.

A member of Thame Town Council since 2011, Councillor Fickling was an experienced, retired architect, who served on a number of committees, including the Planning Committee, for which she was Chairperson; Corporate Governance, Environment & Assets, and Personnel.

She also had exceptional attendance at council meetings – often achieving 100% attendance at meetings in a year, even more impressive as she sat on 4 out of 5 committees!

Councillor Linda Emery said, “My sincere condolences to the Fickling family. Helena was truly a wonderful lady who dedicated her life to making the community a better place. Thinking of Helena automatically brings a smile to the lips of those who knew her because she loved life. She always had a smile. She will be dearly missed by all.”

In addition to her work with the Council, Helena was also a much loved and active member of the Thame community.

She was a Churchwarden at St Mary’s Church; the Council representative for 21st Century Thame, a trustee of the Thame Welfare Trust, and a volunteer for many local organisations.

As a mark of respect, Thame Town Councillors observed one minute silence at Tuesday’s council meeting where Cllr Martin Baines paid tribute to Cllr Fickling, and Committee Services and Processes Officer, Lizzie Fuller, offered these words:

Helena was a kind, caring and community-minded individual, who quietly but generously gave her time to so many local causes. Since 2011 she was a dedicated, reliable, and hard-working councillor, who cared very much about democracy, and the people and area she represented.

For Thame Town Council’s newer councillors, many of whom sit at this table tonight, Helena was a friendly face and supportive coach for you as you settled in.

Helena had been Chair of this Planning committee for an impressive 11 years, and I am sure all current and past councillors in this time have learnt from Helena’s expertise and guidance. In fact, just yesterday she had been due to attend councillor training on Planning matters, demonstrating her ongoing commitment to the role.

Every 3-4 weeks for the last 5 years I have sat in this seat next to Helena whilst she chaired these Planning Committee meetings, it is hard to imagine her never sitting there again.

Thank you, Helena, for everything you gave to this committee and council.

Rest in peace.