A CHURCH community is mourning the loss of a much-loved vicar.

The Rev Bob Fuller, of St John’s Church, Colchester, died at home surrounded by his family, following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 61.

Mr Fuller served the parish from September 1997 until October, when he retired due to his illness.

Having been ordained at Rochester Cathedral in 1975, Mr Fuller first went to Tonbridge Parish Church and Bishop Ridley Church, Welling, both in Kent.

He served in Nottingham and Derbyshire, before he and his family moved to Colchester.

In 2008, Mr Fuller was honoured to be the town mayor’s chaplain during Ray Gamble’s year in office.

Son Sam Fuller, from Colchester, said: “Whatever capacity he was serving in, it was always his pleasure to do so and he gave his best to every situation.

“But he was so much more than a vicar.

“Often, people who met him were surprised when they discovered his vocation, something he always took as a compliment.

“At a service in autumn 2010 to mark his retirement, he was described by a member of the church as ‘a real bloke’ – high praise indeed for one so down-to-earth, so uncomfortable with the airs and graces to which his profession can so often be associated. He was a normal man and a Christian man.”

Sam added: “People person may be an over-used expression nowadays, but it could have been coined to describe Dad.

“He quite simply loved people, and people loved him back in so many ways – as a pastor, a leader, a friend, a mentor, even a hero, but most importantly to him, as a husband and a father.

“He was the life and soul of the party, remembered as a joker by friends from school, college and throughout his ministry.”

Mr Fuller was married to Lesley, for 33 years, and they had four children, Jo, Sam, Ben and Naomi.