A former trustee and governor of Wolverhampton Grammar School has died. Bob Joseph, aged 87, was also a former president of Wolverhampton Chamber of Commerce.

He was described as a dedicated family man who enjoyed success in business, commerce and industry. He made a name for himself in Wolverhampton after taking over Midland Electrical Engineering in 1941.

He left home to study at Birmingham University in the late-1930s where he met his future wife Dorothie and when war broke out he worked on combat mines and submarine motors. But his father, also called Bob died suddenly and left the company to his only son.

Mr Joseph quickly made his mark on the business and expanded it through acquisitions and mergers and also developed a innovative metal spraying technique.

He was president of the chamber of commerce between 1955-57 and became governor of Wolverhampton Grammar School in 1979, and then trustee from 1986-2004.

He and his wife Dorothie never had any children. His nephew, Henry Herzberg, who lives in London spoke of his uncle’s good humour. “He has been a surrogate father to me and constantly entertained all the family with an endless flow of jokes and stories,” he said.

“He was an exceptional man who exercised great energy in making the most of his life and he loved golfing, bird watching and gardening. He showed us how to face terminal illness with great courage, resignation and dignity.”

Mr Joseph nursed his wife Dorothie through illness in her later years at their self-built home in The Parklands, Finchfield, and was widowed in 2006. Friend and golfing companion Audrey Boliver, of Lothians Road, Tettenhall, said: “Bob was such a wonderful man. He was a real steadfast friend and he had a very kind nature.”

Mr Joseph died on March 10 following a long battle with liver cancer.

Express & Star: April 2nd 2007