Ken Lawson, my father, passed away at the age of 81 due to pancreatitis. He had a remarkable career as an esteemed teacher and lecturer.
Born and raised in Liverpool, Ken was Tommy and Alice Lawson’s son. His father worked as a machine setter for Meccano while his mother was a shop assistant. Growing up, Ken had a loving and nurturing environment surrounded by his extended family. After completing his O-levels, he left school to work as an apprentice engineer in the telephone factory. It was here when he met his future wife, Gill Jones, a teacher in the same factory.
Gill encouraged him to return to school, and Ken’s love for education sparked. He studied at Didsbury Teacher Training College in Manchester from 1961 to 1964, before moving to East London. There he taught at Sebright junior school, Hackney, during the day and studied history at Birkbeck, University of London, at night. Ken found his first term to be challenging as he taught in the deprived part of inner London. However, he found joy when his students were thrilled to see him when he returned after Christmas for the second term. Ken established a real bond with his students, and his love for teaching developed.
In 1966, Ken moved to Bristol, where he taught at Knowle Park junior school for eight years. During this time, I and my brother, Peter, were born. Ken pursued his studies at Bristol University and earned a Master’s in education. Afterward, he moved to Dorset, where he became the deputy head of Hillbourne middle school, Poole, and subsequently moved to Devon as headmaster at Bradley Rowe middle school, Exeter.
Ken realized his long-held dream of working as a teacher educator in 1985 when he was made principal lecturer in charge of the PGCE course at Rolle College, Exmouth. He valued the opportunity to guide the next generation of teachers and made long-lasting friendships with students and staff. An exciting opportunity came when he led the college’s student exchange program to the State University of New York at Fredonia, which inspired him and Gill to travel and hike in more than 20 states across the US.
After he retired in 2001, Ken enjoyed his life full of friends, books, coastal walks, and spent time with his grandchildren while following the fortunes of Liverpool FC. His unwavering warmth, intelligence, kindness, and sense of humor remained with him until the end.
He is survived by his wife, Gill, my brother Peter, me, and our four children, Honor, Esme, Jacob, and Rose.
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