Page 39 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Jan-Feb 2018, Vol 27, No 1

Ghostbuster Priest Passes Away Aged 99
Bangor’s Holy
Ghostbuster priest passes
away aged 99
North Wales Chronicles
ONE of Wales’s best-known priests – known as
the “holy ghostbuster” – has died aged 99.
The Rev Joe Aelwyn Roberts, former
Vicar of Llandegai and a Bangor Cathedral
minor canon, died at Ysbyty Gwynedd on
Thursday January 11 after a series of infections
became untreatable. Three of his daughters were ghost-busting books, was added to in 1998 when Together we use information from both
with him.
Mr Roberts, who was born in Blaenau
Ffestiniog and came to Llandegai in 1952, is
best known as the author of Holy Ghostbuster
and other books, revealing his decades as the
Church in Wales’s special responsibilities
minister dealing with paranormal issues.
He frequently featured on BBC TV and
S4C in programmes and documentaries and was
guest on one of Sir David Frost’s hour-long TV
shows investigating the paranormal.
Before the Samaritans were formed, in the late
1960s Mr Roberts created ‘The Listeners’ in
Bangor.
Long before the Government, he
established a drugs and alcohol counselling
service in North Wales to act with police,
probation and healthcare services. He was also confused and ailing mind – and perhaps God
head of the church’s adoption agency and more
than 550 babies were placed to new parents.
Local authorities would assume
responsibility for adoption and fostering but not
before he had established an agency operating
throughout North and Mid Wales.
Before REMPLOY, an organisation
which helped disabled people with work, Mr
Roberts also created workshops and
employment chances for adults with learning
difficulties in the Ogwen area.
In the 1960s he fought local political
objections to create a travellers’ site in
Llandegai and persuaded the Penrhyn family to
donate the land.
39
His son, Mark Roberts, recalled: “Dad
also used to represent the gypsy community
when they appeared at magistrates’ court.
“At one hearing, the prosecuting
solicitor surrendered his case against the
accused when the chairman of the bench warned
him ‘this man is being defended by the
Reverend Roberts. You had better be
prepared!’.”
For many years, he was a regular
newspaper columnist and was widely quoted for
his views by the national press but Other articles
SEEK REALITY
were published worldwide but according to his
son, his greatest pride was in having a ‘learned with
paper’ approved by the editorial committee of ROBERTA GRIMES
the British Medical Journal – something unheard
of by a non-medical contributor. “They even ROBERTA GRIMES is a business attorney
paid me!” he boasted later. who had two extraordinary experiences of
His broadcasting and TV production light in childhood. She then spent decades
career was formidable. In the 1940s and ‘50s studying nearly 200 years of abundant and
while a minor canon at Bangor Cathedral, he consistent communications from the dead,
was one of the BBC Radio original actors in quantum mechanics, and the nature of
Will Cwac Cwac, a long-running popular series, consciousness and she shares what she has
and he moved on to script and produce learned about what actually is going on in an
thousands of radio children’s programme until enjoyable and easily understood trilogy. The
the 1960s when he switched to television. Fun of Dying – Find Out What Really
He had numerous TV series on ghosts, Happens Next details what we now know
Welsh heritage and traditions and four based on about the afterlife. The Fun of Staying in
his book Privies of Wales – a history of the Touch details some of the ways that the dead
outside loo. give us signs of their survival, and also many
In the late 1940s he rejected an offer to of the ways that we can communicate with
become BBC Wales head of children and them. The Fun of Growing Forever reveals
religious broadcast services in Cardiff, despite what must be the easiest and most powerful
its salary and perks. method for attaining rapid spiritual growth
His son said: “He did so on principle. and building your own best life, both while
The BBC had then overlooked another candidate you are on earth and forevermore.
who, being unmarried, had given birth to an Seek Reality explores the amazing
illegitimate child in an era when out of wedlock fact that neither mainstream science nor
was taboo.” mainstream Christianity is able to help us
His international fame after writing much as we try to understand our one reality.
he was guest on the Christmas Day morning sources plus nearly 200 years of abundant
CNN American Morning show – rated among and consistent afterlife evidence to construct
the highest listener audience shows in the USA. a reasonable – and beautiful! – understanding
Mr Roberts declined five requests of former of what actually is going on. What will be
Bishops of Bangor to accept higher office, common knowledge in the second half of this
preferring to remain a humble parish priest century can be your glorious reality today. -
without constraint. He also declined a www.robertagrimes.com.
nomination for civil honours offered after his Some of Roberta’s past guests
retirement as Vicar of Llandegai and director of include: Lisa Smartt, Craig Hogan, David
social responsibility in the Bangor Diocese. Burfoot, Mark Anthony, Susanne Wilson,
He was honoured by Rotarians Andy Pavarini, Cyrus Kirkpatrick, Wendy
International and Probus for his untiring work Zammit, Debbie Malone, David Low,
for Christian communities in Africa. Virginia Hummel, and Roy Stemman.
His last pleas to family were that could To contact Roberta Grimes - Email -
he please return “home”to Blaenau Ffestiniog, robertagrimes@xzbn.net.
which he had always regarded as his birthplace.
His son said: “I think it is so beautiful in his
given – that shortly before his death he was
transferred from the hectic, noisy and traumatic
hospital emergency department to the peace and
tranquillity of the hospital’s Prysor ward where
he died.
“Prysor is that beautiful lake
overlooking Blaenau which he called home. He
got his wish.”
Mr Roberts was due to be cremated
today (January 17) in a private funeral. An open
thanksgiving service will be held at Llandegai
Church on Saturday, January 27 at 11am .
He leaves six children, 20 grandchildren www.XZBN.net
and 17 great-grandchildren. His wife, Margaret,
died last year, aged 93. []aaaaaaaaaaaaa