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Ryan Kemp, ‘bright, open, affectionate and enduringly positive’ |
Campaigner determined to fight for a better Cally
Energetic activist who chaired community forum dies aged 59
POPULAR King’s Cross community activist Ryan Kemp, a familiar figure with his shock of hair and bushy beard, has died of renal cancer. He was 59.
He is the third local activist to die in recent months, following the deaths of Lisa Pontecorvo and Phil Jeffries.
Sue Cartwright, his partner of 24 years, writes: Ryan, who lived in the Caledonian area for more than 30 years, was chairman of the successful Cally Forum.
A campaigner for improvements in the community, he strongly believed people should have a say in what went on in their area.
He was a community representative on organisations such as Team Cally, Islington Community Network, King’s Cross Development Forum, Caledonian Ward Safer Neighbourhoods Panel and Friends of Regent’s Canal.
He regularly attended public meetings of Islington Council’s west area committee.
In 1996-7 Ryan was instrumental in lobbying for the building and funding of Killick Street Health Centre. He worked with King’s Cross Partnership on funding for a community health worker to be employed there.
Ryan was an active participant at meetings, frequently challenging information and wishing to add relevant points. He often had extensive knowledge of the background to matters being discussed, which, as many chair people will know to their cost, he just had to share with everyone.
He often turned up late, as he tried to fit in two meetings on the same evening.
Ryan joined the Labour Party in the 1980s and was chairman of Caledonian branch for many years.
He spent his childhood in Brighton, coming to London for his first degree at University College London, followed by an MSc at Birkbeck and part-time teaching at Oxford Poly.
He started a PhD on large databases at UCL in 1978 but got sidetracked and never completed it.
He worked as a lecturer, then senior lecturer at South Bank University from 1983 until he was made redundant in 2006.
He joined the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (Natfhe), now University and College Union (UCU), and over the years became branch chairman, secretary, local negotiator and delegate to its regional council. Until his illness, he was regional treasurer of Natfhe inner London and then London regions.
Ryan was fun to be with; he had a sunny disposition and an upbeat, optimistic outlook. He never bore grudges, had an endless curiosity about everything and a boundless enthusiasm for life.
He greatly enjoyed attending festivals, music gigs (usually rock bands) and exhibitions as well as being interested in history and architecture.
As his many albums and thousands of digital photos testify, he was an ardent photographer. He loved to travel and to explore other countries.
His cancer was diagnosed in August 2007 and for almost the first year Ryan was able to enjoy his life.
Things gradually changed, especially of course during the last month of his life, but he had good doctors at Royal Marsden Hospital, excellent support from GPs at Click Street and a wonderful palliative care team who not only effectively controlled his pain but really got to know us both and who have been incredibly supportive. I can’t praise them enough.
I would like to thank all our kind friends and neighbours as well as Ryan’s family, especially his brother Fraser, who have been and continue to be so supportive.
Ryan was very special. He was bright, open, affectionate and enduringly positive. It’s hard for me to imagine how life will be without him; certainly it will be a sadder and duller place. I and his brother and family will always miss him terribly but I am comforted in the knowledge that my loss is shared by many others in the Cally area.
Should you wish to make a donation in Ryan’s memory, please contact one of the following charities: Macmillan Cancer Support or Kidney Cancer UK. |
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