Kenneth Sergison obituary

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2013/jan/15/kenneth-sergison-obituary

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My father, Kenneth Sergison, who has died aged 82, was a civil engineer involved in a number of significant infrastructure projects, including the construction of a particularly challenging section of the M6 motorway running through the Pennines between Shap and Tebay in Cumbria. It is one of the highest sections of motorway in Britain.

He was born in Chester, to Alfred and Sarah Sergison. As a young boy, he fell seriously ill with diphtheria. While many of his classmates died from this illness my father survived, losing a year of schooling. After leaving King's school, Chester, he did his national service with the Signals Regiment, contributing, in late 1940s Germany, to postwar rebuilding.

This experience brought him into contact with like-minded people; access to libraries and debate substituted for the university education he had had to postpone. He remained an avid reader throughout his life. It also forged his political and social consciousness; my father always displayed an aversion to injustice and conflict, and an unshakeable belief in the need to do good and act with humility.

On returning from Germany, he trained as a civil engineer in Liverpool, a career chosen for him by his father rather than pursued through a great personal interest. He worked for a number of local authorities, including Westmorland (now Cumbria), Surrey and West Sussex county councils. In the late 1970s my father moved out of the drawing office and worked on committees for the Royal Institution of Civil Engineers and other institutions.

In the late 1980s he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and retired early. When he survived longer than deemed medically possible, his diagnosis was changed to Kennedy syndrome. This reprieve led to my father's long-standing involvement with the Motor Neurone Disease Association, in addition to the support of other charities, including Shelter and Save the Children Fund.

He is survived by his wife, Hazel, sons, Richard, Jonathan, Oliver and me, and grandchildren, Darcey and Maia.