STAFF at an arts centre will pay tribute to a former volunteer who died of bowel cancer last year.

John Humby, who died of at the age of 78 after battling the disease, was a volunteer at Letchworth Arts Centre since its early days in the late 1990s, when it was known as The Place.

When it fell into financial difficulties, the father-of-two was one of a tiny band of stalwarts who kept the arts centre going before its rebirth as Letchworth Arts Centre eight years ago.

Next week, the Stevenage resident’s former colleagues are putting on a tribute evening featuring some of the music he loved.

Letchworth Arts Centre CEO Maria Iredale said: “John joined us after he retired and he kept very active. Right from day one he was very passionate about the work we did here. He was like my dad, he would always have these great ideas for marketing events and was very creative in the projects that we ran.

“He put in so many hours here and he was loved by everyone. He was only meant to volunteer with us one afternoon a week but that never happened, he was here a lot more than that.”

The tribute evening will be held on Friday, March 22 and feature John’s favourite music, including a classical recital on the centre’s baby grand piano played by Mike Gifkins and music from the music department of St Christopher School, Letchworth GC.

Mushroom stroganoff or Thai green curry will also be served.

The evening starts at 7pm for 7.30pm, and tickets are £14 with the proceeds being split between Garden House Hospice and the arts centre.

To book call 01462 670788 by Friday.