A FORMER Morris Motors worker who became an Elvis fan after meeting The King himself has died aged 79.

William Noel Sweetnam, also know as Tex and Bill, passed away on November 14 following a short illness.

He was born in Cork in 1930 and grew up on his father’s farm. Aged just 14, he would load 20-gallon churns on to a pony cart every morning for milk deliveries.

Mr Sweetnam was educated in a one-room schoolhouse with his elder sisters, Pat and Muriel, before joining the RAF in 1948.

He served for six years, spending two years in Aden, now Yemen.

In 1954, Mr Sweetnam moved to Ontario, Canada, and worked on prairie farms in Saskatchewan.

It was here that he got to meet a young Elvis Presley backstage at a concert in Toronto and became a lifelong fan.

But Mr Sweetnam also met someone in Canada who would become far more important – his future wife Jean Walshe, from Mayo.

The two were married in 1957 and had twin boys, George and Greg, in 1959.

In 1960, the family moved to Headington and Mr Sweetnam initially worked at Lucy’s Engineering Works, then as a milkman by day and an assistant dresser at the New Theatre by night.

He started work at Morris Motors in 1962, driving the cars off the assembly line and often working nights.

Mrs Sweetnam died in 1978 and Mr Sweetnam took voluntary redundancy from British Leyland in 1981.

He moved to Mon Choisy care home in Kennington in 2001 and had regular visits from family and friends.

They would often receive spirited renditions of Teddy Bear and Hound Dog as Mr Sweetnam remained an Elvis fan until the end.

Mr Sweetnam’s funeral was held at All Saints’ Church in Didcot on November 24.