Editorial: Ray Stevens was a servant of the Whanganui people

Ray Stevens served as a Whanganui district councillor for 19 years.

It was a standing joke in the Chronicle newsroom that Ray Stevens should be put on the payroll, such was the frequency with which he called up with news tips.

If he could have been the first to inform us of his own death this week, he probably would have.

From a prime spot at his Westmere petrol station, Ray would often phone in with reports of police chases, car accidents, downed power lines or gossip he'd heard at the petrol pump.

And when reporters turned up to incidents, he'd already be out there on the scene directing traffic or helping where he could.

Ray Stevens was a true community stalwart.

Over the years he helped raise money for countless causes and served with many organisations such as Riding for the Disabled and the Whanganui District Health Board.

He served a remarkable 19 years as a Whanganui district councillor where he took his role as a representative of the district's people seriously.

Agree or disagree with his views or his politics, Ray was not afraid to bring issues he thought the community needed to know about to the public's attention.

Most recently he raised the alarm about the Whanganui Events Trust's financial difficulties following the 2017 Masters Games.

There are stories of Ray refusing to eat ratepayer-funded lunches at all-day meetings and instead leave the building.

His antics as an elected representative must have had officials tearing their hair out at times because Ray's loyalty was never to the organisation he represented.

It was to the people he represented.

After all, he was that friendly guy at the petrol station on the way out of town.

A petrol station which may have had Caltex emblazoned across the canopy but which everyone in Whanganui simply referred to as Ray's Place.

That says everything about how Ray was regarded.

Mischievous? Definitely. Did he always get it right? No one does. Is Whanganui a better place for his service? Absolutely.

This community will miss him greatly.