Kevin McAleese obituary

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/apr/10/kevin-mcaleese-obituary

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My husband, Kevin McAleese, who has died aged 72 of prostate cancer, rose through the ranks to become a headteacher before moving into education consultancy and then into a range of non-executive roles.

Kevin was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, to Marjorie Stromberg and her husband, James McAleese, a sales manager and decorated second world war air-gunner who served with Bomber Command. Kevin grew up in Eltham, south-east London, and went to the London Nautical school, in Lambeth, before signing up as a midshipman with the Blue Funnel Line.

At 21 he qualified as an ocean-going navigator, but soon afterwards decided to come ashore to study at Keele University, graduating with a teaching qualification and a degree in education and arts.

After teaching jobs in Essex, with the army in West Germany, and in Buckinghamshire and Kent, Kevin’s first headship came in 1987 at Alec Hunter high school in Braintree, Essex, and in 1992 he was appointed headteacher at Harrogate grammar school.

Ten years later, having written two successful books on the financial management of schools (Managing the Margins, 1996, and Balancing the Books, 2000), he moved into education consultancy with his own company, providing support services to secondary schools, colleges and local authorities.

He was appointed CBE in 1998 for services to education and later became involved in the NHS as a non-executive director.

In 2002 he joined the Craven, Harrogate and rural district primary care trust as a non-executive director and in 2006 was appointed vice-chair of NHS North Yorkshire and York, becoming chair in 2009, a post he held for four years.

He was also chair of the RAF Menwith Hill British-American committee for six years and chair of the independent advisory committee of the Army Foundation College in Harrogate for a similar period before stepping down in 2017. Other organisations he chaired were York Housing Association from 2014 to 2016 and the City of York Adult Safeguarding Board from 2013 to 2018, when he retired because of failing health.

He undertook this role with great flair, always making sure his meetings finished early, and was well known for his coordinated ties, silk handkerchiefs and socks.

He loved the cinema, photography, travelling and music, and was a talented guitarist who could play any tune by ear.

Kevin’s first marriage was to Dorothy (nee Nelson), who died in 1998. We married in 2000. He is survived by me and a son and daughter from his first marriage.