A SAINTLY man who never complained - those were the words used to described a Cam stalwart who died after collapsing at a gym.

Roy McWhannell, of Fairmead, passed away at Frenchay Hospital on Saturday after suffering a heart attack while exercising at Courtyard Health and Fitness Centre in Dursley last Thursday.

Mr McWhannell, 78, was an intrinsic part of the Cam and Dursley community who worked tirelessly on the Cotswold Vale Talking Newspaper and helped establish the Dursley Probus 91 Club.

The pensioner, who leaves behind his wife Margaret and their son Ross, daughter-in-law Tina and 15-year-old granddaughter Vikki, suffered with rheumotoid arthritis for 30 years but never uttered any words of complaint.

Mrs McWhannell told the Gazette: "He was a saintly, wonderful man and life was better for having known him.

"He was loved by everybody and people keep telling me they wish they had known him longer."

The couple, who lost their other son to cancer, moved to the area from Edinburgh when Mr McWhannell was appointed personnel manager at the labs at Berkeley Nuclear Power Station in 1974.

With his soft Scottish voice, Mr McWhannell brought joy to hundreds of blind and partially-sighted people in the area.

He co-ordinated the quartlerly magazine-style programme for the talking newspaper, interviewing community leaders and selecting anecdotal tales and his favourite prose.

Newspaper chairman Pauline Thomas said: "He was warm and welcoming and we shall all miss him greatly. He was exceptionally good at what he did.

"He was a lovely man with a lovely voice."

She added: "He could hardly walk up the stairs to the studio by the end but he never missed a recording."

Fellow Probus member Roger Davis said: "The fortitude of the man was amazing.

"He just got on with his life and never complained about his arthritis. It makes you feel quite humble really."

Mr McWhannell was known for recounting nostalgic stories of days gone by and loved entertaining everyone he met.

"He brought joy to people's lives," said his wife, who praised staff at the gym for resuscitating her husband while waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

"The manager Carl Ward was brilliant," she said.

No one from the gym was available for comment.

The funeral will be held at St James' Church, Dursley, on Friday, December 14 (10.30am). Donations to the Arthritis and Rheumatoid Council.