Obituary: Tributes paid to Shrewsbury agent Ron Morgan

The boss of Peakes Travel Elite has paid tribute to Shrewsbury travel agent and “tireless” fundraiser Ron Morgan, who died last month aged 69.

Claire Moore, Peakes’ managing director, joined his agency, Ron Morgan Travel, at the age of 18 for her first job in travel back in 1995.

His luxury agency was acquired by Peakes in 2001 and the pair stayed in touch over the years.

“He was a lovable character who will be much missed,” she told Travel Weekly.

“As an agent, he was a trendsetter rather than a follower.

“He was a lovely ambassador for travel and a big supporter of me.

“He kept his hand in and often took groups away to places such as Kilimanjaro – he was intrepid.”

His agency started in Princess Street in the late 80s before moving to St Mary’s Street in 1998, with a Sir Richard Branson lookalike to help celebrate the occasion.

Furthermore, Ron wrote books, took visitors on guided historic tours around the town, and raised thousands of pounds for charitable causes over many years.

His memoir, Morgan the Travel, recounted his travels across the globe and he also wrote two novels and two children’s books.

Ron also wrote about his battle with cancer to raise awareness for the Bowel Cancer UK charity.

He and his wife Dianne provided trips and experiences for thousands of sick children over the course of 28 years with their charity, The Dreamcatcher Charitable Fund, which they launched in 1995. They only ended it towards the end of last year as Ron became more unwell.

Ron was also a big fan of Shrewsbury Town and several representatives from the club were at his funeral.

“His funeral was a sight to behold, with a male voice choir and flash mob dance of Bollywood dancers,” said Moore.

“The church was packed with about 600 people. It was lovely to meet up with colleagues I’d not seen for 20-plus years.

“It was a celebration of his life.”

Moore said she will soon meet up with Dianne to see if there are ways that they can continue his legacy.

Dianne told the Shropshire Star that Ron was “an amazing man” who was “very proud of his town” and left “quite a legacy”.

He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and died on March 10.

Pictured: Dianne and Ron at a 1940s event.