Heartfelt family tributes have been paid to a former council leader and BBC news producer who passed away on May 9, aged 86. Former journalist and lecturer John McManus, who worked for BBC Look North West and Radio Manchester before also becoming leader of Rossendale council, tragically died after a three week stay in hospital.
The 86-year-old grandad, who first started out as a reporter for the Shield's Gazette in South Shields before working in Manchester.
He had met his wife Pamela on the job - after he was sent to interview her when she had covered a burning chip pan with a wet cloth and ran out of the house with it, saving her parents’ home. He later moved on to produce the BBC regional nightly news for Look North West, in Manchester, in the early 1970s.
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After a mammoth 25 years, he became the boss of BBC Radio Manchester before retiring from broadcasting in the 1990s. He then moved on to teaching media studies at the University of Salford in 1989, and remained there, leading the MA Documentary course until he retired in 2010.
Alongside his work in the media, John, who was living in Helmshore, Rossendale, with his wife Pamela and children Mark, Simon and Jessica, was a Labour councillor for Worsley and then the Helmshore ward, before becoming leader of Rossendale Council for three years in the late 90s. Ahead of his funeral, his two children Simon and Jessica have paid a heartfelt tribute to their 'selfless and kind' dad.
They said: "Childhood memories are mostly of long caravan camping holidays in the South of France, visiting Chateaus, museums, and historical sites, attending town Fetes, and mingling with the locals.
"Television nightly news was exciting but high pressure and intense. He loved it but was constantly busy and had little time for hobbies, and during this time he would take cycling holidays around Europe and even cycled across Cuba before it became a popular holiday destination.
"When he stepped into lecturing, he was at his happiest. He found an audience to share his love and enthusiasm for his craft with.
"He truly was never happier, working at the University and spending lots of time on weekends and during leave with his grandchildren. Most weekends they were at the science museum, or the Blue Planet aquarium, or riding the trains on the East Lancashire Railway with various grandchildren."
Simon and Jessica lost their mum Pamela in December 2019, who John had cared for in the run up to her death, and their eldest brother Mark to cancer in the August of the same year. John, who was a child of eight, also lost two of his brothers, Alfie and Michael, in the years that followed.
John struggled to speak or write when he passed away, after his mobility had started to decline after a stroke in 2016.
Ahead of his funeral at Accrington Crematorium today, (May 19), Simon and Jessica added: "His last 3 years have been tough but we managed trips out for a coffee or a beer every now and again.
"He was a popular and caring man who had a huge positive influence on a lot of people in many different aspects of life. One of the cruellest events struck him with his last major stroke, for someone who loved to talk, with a great voice and so much to say, the loss of his ability to communicate was devastating for him.
"Dad was a selfless kind man who really cared about people who needed help. He didn't just express his views, he tried to do something to help wherever he could."
