Former Norwich City chairman Michael Wynn Jones, husband of TV cook Delia Smith, has died at the age of 85, the club announced on Monday.
Wynn Jones passed away peacefully at home on Monday morning. He and Smith spent 28 years as majority shareholders at Norwich City before stepping back from the board last year, having agreed a deal to reduce their holding in the club to 10 per cent, after which they became honorary life presidents.
Norwich City released a statement paying tribute to their former chairman and offering condolences to his family.
"Everyone at Norwich City is deeply saddened by the passing of our honorary life president, Michael Wynn Jones," the statement read.
"Michael died peacefully at home on Monday morning, aged 85."
"He will be greatly missed," the club added. "His family are grateful for the wonderful care provided by the community nursing team at St Elizabeth Hospice. Our deepest condolences are with Delia and Tom, and with all of Michael’s family, friends and loved ones."
At the family’s request, Norwich City asked that their privacy be respected at this difficult time.
Norwich City ownership
Wynn Jones married Smith in 1971, and the couple became majority shareholders of Norwich City in 1998. Norwich City Football Club, based in Norfolk, compete in the English football league system and are nicknamed the Canaries.
Under their 28-year ownership, the club earned promotion to the Premier League, the top tier of English football, on five separate occasions. Three of those promotions were achieved as champions of the second-tier Championship.
Norwich enjoyed a three-year continuous spell in the top flight between the 2011-12 and 2013-14 seasons. However, the club also suffered five relegations from the Premier League during Wynn Jones and Smith's tenure at the helm.
Publishing career and books
Outside of his involvement in football, Wynn Jones worked as an editor on several major magazines, including Mirror Magazine and the British political and current affairs weekly publication The Spectator.
He founded and served as chairman of New Crane Publishing Ltd and authored several books focusing on biography and social history.
His wife, Delia Smith, is a renowned British television presenter and cookery writer who became a household name teaching basic cookery skills on television and writing best-selling cookbooks.
