A tenacious newspaper journalist who also ran a news agency and public relations firm has died aged 71 after a long illness.
Tributes have been paid for Arfon Edwards, who worked for the Daily Post, Western Mail and The Leader during his career.
Arfon went on to found Mold -based Dee News in the late 1970s, and he went on to set up PR company Quadrant, which continued to operate in Nercwys until his retirement seven years ago.
He is survived by wife Jennifer, children Vanessa and Matthew and four grandchildren.
Arfon, from Pantymwyn, began his career in 1965 as a trainee reporter at the Chester Chronicle, based at its Mold office.
Fellow trainee at the time was former Daily Post district reporter Gareth Hughes, later to be Arfon’s best man at his wedding.
He said: “I always admired Arfon for taking the bold step into PR, and the business acumen he displayed in building up his Quadrant agency, which attracted several very high-profile clients.”
Quadrant’s clients included BHP, ICI and pharmaceutical firms such as GSK, and Novartis.
Another retired Daily Post journalist, Carl Butler, recalled covering north east Wales with Arfon for the newspaper.
A man of “boundless energy”, his former colleague had a wealth of anecdotes which he would often “impart over a liquid lunch”, said Carl.
But his most abiding memory of Arfon was his “fanatical zeal” for his job.
“He was probably the most fiercely competitive journalist I ever worked with,” said Carl.
“The reputation of the Daily Post mattered to him and that meant we had to be first with the news.
“He broke exclusive after exclusive but not before he had checked and re-checked every fact, every quote.
“He had the kind of contacts book which today, sadly, probably belongs in a museum.”
Veteran BBC journalist John Shone worked with Arfon for 40 years.
They first met when Arfon was on the Chronicle and John on the rival weekly the Flintshire Leader.
Competition was always extremely fierce but they quickly became firm friends.
Arfon went on to join the Wrexham Leader before moving to Cardiff for the Western Mail in Cardiff and later returning north as a district man on the Daily Post.
After setting up his news agency, Arfon began organising an annual Christmas party for local newspaper and TV journalists, who would invite along regular contacts in the police, fire and ambulance services.
“They were great parties and they really brought everyone together,” said John.
“You always needed to book a day off afterwards!”
John also joined Arfon as a part-timer at Quadrant after he first retired from the BBC in 2005.
In recent years John followed Arfon’s lead by helping to organise an annual “Old Hacks” Christmas get-together for senior journalists across North Wales.
“It was always good to see Arfon there, and we enjoyed lunch together at other times of the year,” said John.
“He wasn’t well enough to attend last Christmas, but we had a pub lunch just four days before the lockdown and he was really on form. He was one of my oldest friends and such a great pro.”
Arfon’s funeral is next Thursday and is for family only due to Covid curbs. However a number of veteran journalists plan to meet nearby to pay their final respects.
