Former Marlborough Town Football Club stalwart Alec Cook, who played for the club for many years, following in the footsteps of his father, has died at the age of 80.

Mr Cook lived in Marlborough for most of his life but moved to Wroughton with his wife Jean seven years ago.

He had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for several years but his death was caused by prostate cancer diagnosed two years ago.

The retired electrician died on Valentine’s Day with his wife of 59 years, his son Chris and daughter Vanessa at his bedside.

Mr Cook was born in Kingsbury Terrace in Marlborough in 1933 and his father Vic – who was a well- known Socialist in his day – worked as a linesman for the former Southern Electricity Board.

As he grew up he had three main interests, the wildlife and the rural environment about his hometown, soccer and boxing.

Although he was a formidable defender for Marlborough Town, which he joined at 15 after previously playing for Ogbourne St George, his love of boxing was restricted to watching the sport, which he did for the rest of his life.

He had two brothers, Raymond who died at 14 months, and Charlie and sister Doreen, who survive him.

Mr Cook attended St Peter’s Boys School and won a scholarship to Marlborough Grammar and he intended to turn his love of wildlife and the countryside into a career.

Mrs Cook said: “Alec wanted to be a zoologist and he knew everything there was to know about animals and birds.

“But because of his family situation they could not afford for him to stay on at school so his family pulled him out of school when he was 16.”

Although he was apprenticed as an electrician, which became his life’s work until retiring at the age of 64, he never lost his love for the countryside and his son and daughter still recall how he used to love taking them deer spotting in the forest and countryside.

Mr and Mrs Cook met when she was working as a nurse at the former Children’s Convalescent Hospital on The Common and he had to do some electrical work there.

They married at St Thomas More RC Church in December 1954 and would have celebrated their diamond wedding later this year.

He quit the Roman Catholic Church over revelations about priests molesting children, said his wife, and he asked for his funeral to be at St Mary’s Church which was packed on Monday with mourners, including some of the dwindling number of former soccer pals.

Home for Mr and Mrs Cook was at Merlin Cottages in London Road to start with, before they moved to Five Stiles Road where they remained until moving to Wroughton.

There were family flowers only at the funeral and his wife asked for donations to the Alzheimer’s Society care of Hilliers Funeral Service, 17 Victoria Road, Swindon.

Mrs Cook expressed her thanks for the many cards and messages of sympathy the family received.