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Mary Wallis-Jones |
School governor with love of jazz
MARY Wallis-Jones spent a combined total of 63 years sitting on school governing bodies in Camden, inspired by a burning interest in young people and education, which manifested itself in a doctorate she wrote on education policy.
Mary, who has died aged 66, was a lifelong and active member of the Labour Party, a governor at Rhyl, Torriano, Brecknock, Chalcot and Sherborne schools, as well as a senior member of the National Governors Association. Her politics were crafted early in life: her father Ewan Wallis-Jones was a judge and he and wife Veronica were committed left-wingers – Ewan was to serve on the Hampstead Borough Council in the 1950s for the party.
Mary was born in the Sussex town of Beding in 1943: her father and mother had been bombed out not once but twice from their Hampstead homes. After the war, they returned to Hampstead and Mary went firstly to Brookfield and then on to Parliament Hill school. She then studied sociology at Bedford college, before working as a market researcher. She married John Killeen in the 1970s.
Mary was passionate about real ale, and this impressed John.
Apparently their romance was sealed when John noticed she drove an Alpha Romeo sports car. Coventry-born and interested in cars, he was won over.
Mary was a keen singer and a member of choirs including the Highgate Choral Society. She loved classical music, but also had a passion for jazz and would often head to Ronnie Scott’s. A memory she often shared was of the visit of singer Paul Robeson, as a guest of the Hampstead Labour Party, after the war. Mary remembered her parents being commandeered to drive him around as they were the only members of the party who had a car, and Mary was given a seat in the back next to Robeson.
Mary was a member of the Church of England and, although she interpreted her religion in her own way, would attend church every Sunday. She was also renowned for her other Sunday tradition – cooking up a roast for friends and family.
DAN CARRIER |
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