TRIBUTES have been paid to the owner of the former Manor House School in Hanwell after he died last month.

Friends and family have paid tribute to Douglas Reading (pictured), who died aged 89 on June 13 from complications arising from heart disease.

His son David said: "Dad was a fun-loving family man who touched the lives of everyone he met."

Mr Reading was born in St Ives, Cambridgeshire on January 19, 1921 and moved to Greenford in the early 1950s.

He was treasurer of Montpelier Primary School Parent Teacher Association. His wife Phyllis would later teach at the school, which all four of his children attended.

In 1978 the couple bought Manor House School, which they owned and ran until 2005, after Mr Reading retired early from the Inland Revenue.

They moved to the Isle of Wight in the early 1980s and bought Westmont School, in Newport, in 1996, selling it seven years later. During his time in Ealing, Mr Reading was a member at different times of Perivale, Ealing Broadway and Pitshanger Methodist churches.

A football fan who supported Chelsea FC, he was always interested in spending time with his family. At one point he also served as a Methodist local preacher and was a member of Hanwell Rotary Club.

He died on June 13 at St Mary's Hospital, Newport after being admitted on May 31. His funeral was to take place yesterday (Thursday) at Ryde Methodist Church on the Isle of Wight. Mr Reading is survived by his wife Phyllis, four children, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.