Former Queensbury ward councillor Keeki Thammaiah passed away aged 76 on his sofa while wife Naila made dinner in their kitchen at around 6.30pm.

Councillor Bill Stephenson, leader of Harrow Council, described him as a “beacon”, while Navin Shah, London Assembly member for Brent and Harrow, said: “He was really very kind hearted, softly spoken and really laid back.

“He was loved right across the party divide, that’s why he also became a very effective and good first Asian mayor in Harrow.

“That feat in itself is remarkable, it was the first ever acknowledgment in Harrow of the diversity that we have had.

“I proposed he be the mayor. We were very close, I saw him as being like my older brother.”

The former Wembley High School teacher was elected as a councillor in 1992 and served the borough up until the elections last year, when he stepped down.

He was appointed mayor in 2000 and during his time on the council also sat on licensing and planning committees.

He was born in Coorg, in South India, and came to Britain in 1964, teaching maths at Wembley High in the 1970s before moving on to City of Westminster College in 1985.

Councillor Mrinal Choudhury, the current deputy mayor, spoke to Mr Thammaiah’s wife just hours before his death yesterday and was supposed to visit his former colleague today.

He said: “He left a message on my phone yesterday just to say ‘can you come and see me’. This morning his son called me. We were very close.

“I just went to see his wife this morning. He died while he was sitting on the settee. He was talking to his wife. She went to the kitchen to prepare some food.

“She came back to find that his eyes were up and she called the ambulance.”

Cllr Stephenson, current leader of the Labour Group, said: “He was a tremendously popular person.

“When he was mayor he always got on well with everybody. It’s a really sad loss. Keeki was a beacon, he was a very popular mayor, very well liked across both parties who have great regard for him.”

Councillor Husain Akhtar (Cons/Cannons) said: “I always found that Keeki and his soft smile were inseparable.

“I looked for that smile this morning when I visited his home but it was not there. I’m very sad that he is not with us any more.”

He is survived by wife Naila, son Poonu, granddaughter Sonali and grandsons Adit and Alok.

source: http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk / by Jack Royston / Tuesday Mar 29th, 2011