Mr. Sternbeck died on Tuesday, July 6 aged 80.

Hundreds of people attended his funeral yesterday at St. John’s Anglican Church, Cessnock.

He received two of the city’s highest honours, Senior Citizen of the Year and Freeman of the City, in 2009, after a lifetime of service to the community.

Mr. Sternbeck was a Cessnock Alderman from 1962 to 1987, a foundation member of the Hunter Valley Conservation Trust and played a prominent role in the NSW Flood Mitigation Authority.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996 in recognition of his service to conservation through the Hunter Valley Conservation Trust, and for service to Local Government.

Mayor of Cessnock, Cr. Alison Davey paid tribute to Mr. Sternbeck at last Wednesday night’s council meeting.

“Harold gave a lifetime of extraordinary service and achievement, and through his strength of character, and his integrity became one of the city’s most highly regarded and respected citizens,” Cr. Davey said.

“He was a man of great humility and invariably referred to himself as ‘an ordinary fellow’. If this was so, then he was an extraordinary ‘ordinary fellow’ which is evident by his achievements.”

Mr. Sternbeck joined Cessnock Lions Club in 1954 and was its longest serving active member. He was awarded Lions’ highest honour, the Melvin Jones Fellowship in 1993 and received life membership in 2003.

A highly-regarded and respected real estate agent and auctioneer, Mr. Sternbeck often provided his much sought-after auctioneering skills to many local organisations on a voluntary basis.

H. J. Sternbeck Park, opposite his long-standing real estate agency in Vincent Street, was named in his honour in 2000 in recognition of his contribution to the Cessnock community.