"HE knew how to act in every situation. Whether you ran the country or whether you cleaned the country it didn't matter to him. He was my absolute hero."
Those are the words of Kirsten Ovenden whose father, Ian Gillies the former Lord Mayor of York has died aged 78, just over a fortnight after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Mr Gillies had been a Conservative councillor for Rural West York, for 12 years when he retired in 2019, twice serving as Conservative group leader, and also as City of York Council leader.
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