Fond farewell to Truro's 'Prince of Trelander' Ronnie Tann

Hundreds of family members, friends and residents of the Trelander estate in Truro have come together to say one last farewell to local legend Ronnie Tann. Ronald George Tann, known as Ronnie, passed away on October 16 at the age of 77, less than a year after his beloved wife Sue also died.

Revd Mark Dunn-Wilson, who also conducted Sue's funeral eight months ago at the city's Methodist Church, regaled the gathered mourners with anecdotes and stories about Ronnie - a man who was born on, lived all his life and died on the Trelander estate - sharing memories of his life.

He told the congregation today (Monday, November 11) how Ronnie, one of five children, started out wanting to be a plumber. However, as an apprentice working on new houses on the Malabar estate, he took exception to his foreman and belted him, which resulted in a rather abrupt change of career.

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Ronnie later became a builder and always made a point of trying to give people who could not afford much the cheapest prices. A builder during the day, Ronnie was a doorman at night working the nightclub scene in Truro and further afield, from Hayle to Bodmin.

Revd Dunn-Wilson said people had shared with him how Ronnie was known as the "best doorman of the lot". Recounting a tale involving Ronnie's daughters who happened to be inside the nightclub where Ronnie worked one night, he said: "Ronnie's daughters were inside enjoying themselves. After checking they were really inside, Ronnie left his post and marched straight in, demanded that the music be kept down then proceeded to frogmarch his daughters out and asked them to go home.

"There's nothing wrong with that, of course, if your daughters are underage, but Fiona and Susanna were in their mid-thirties."

Revd Dunn-Wilson also joked that Ronnie worked so hard and was so busy he once asked if he could jump the queue in the dole's office as he had to go to work.

Ronnie was an accomplished boxing champion but also a champion of the downtrodden, always fighting for social justice and fair play for Truro and its people. In another anecdote, Revd Dunn-Wilson said Ronnie had been helping Devon and Cornwall Police with their inquiry one Christmas into the disappearance of a batch of turkeys.

The police searched the area around Ronnie's property thoroughly but soon removed him from their inquiry when they could not find any of the missing birds. Suffice to say, many of the families on the Trelander estate enjoyed turkey for dinner that Christmas.

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A proud Trelander man through and through, Ronnie was even prouder of his family who were everything to him. Revd Dunn-Wilson said: "The passing of Ronnie and Sue has left a huge hole in the Tann family. Sue died of a broken heart from the passing of their son George. I think Ronnie died of a broken heart too. Without Sue, Ronnie was not the same but he is now reunited with his soulmate."

He added: "I don't know if Ronnie was a loveable rogue, but many people here have lost a friend and a man who knew about loyalty. We have lost a legend."

Sue and Ronnie's younger son Jonathan also paid tribute to his dad saying he would "always be my hero". He ended his tribute asking the congregation to join him with three cheers as they did at his mother's funeral, "to let them know up there that Ronnie Tann is on his way".

Former Truro mayor Bert Biscoe also paid tribute to his friend, saying that Ronnie was "loud, pushy and sharp-tongued" but remained a champion of Truro and its people. The former Cornwall councillor who still sits on Truro City Council said the respected boxing champion had shown kindness and decency to others throughout his life, and always tried to fight for social justice, adding: "Truro was Ronnie and Ronnie was Truro".

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