My father, Ian Sutherland, who has died aged 75, was a secondary school teacher for more than 25 years.
Between 1989 and 2017 he taught history and English literature at Perronet Thompson school (now Kingswood academy) in Hull, and then at Andrew Marvell school (now the Marvell college) in the same city.
He was an academic everyman – highly educated and an avid bookworm, yet someone who swore like a trooper, never took himself too seriously and loved the humour of Blackadder, Reeves and Mortimer and Billy Connolly.
Born in Hull, Ian was the son of Elsie (nee Martin), who worked as a nurse before becoming a housewife, and Donald, a trawlerman. After his education at Francis Askew school in Hull, Ian worked in warehouse roles and as a bus conductor. It was only on becoming the librarian of David Lister school in Hull that he realised he wanted to enter the world of teaching.
He obtained a degree in combined studies from Humberside College, followed by a teaching qualification and then his first teaching job at Perronet Thompson school.
During his retirement years Ian slept as little as possible in order to make the most of each day. He enjoyed taking photographs of old buildings and greenery, which he used as subject matter for sketches, ink drawings and paintings. Many of his works were displayed in open exhibitions at the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, and he had his own exhibition during Assemble Fest in 2015 along the city’s Newland Avenue.
When not at his drawing board, Ian would watch the latest films on his home cinema system and listen to all kinds of music from across the decades, everything from the Beatles, the Moody Blues and the Stranglers to Elbow, Ben Howard, Oasis, Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. When the weather allowed, he would spend entire days in his garden, which he nurtured from scratch over the course of a decade into a colourful, calming sanctuary lined with bamboo.
He also enjoyed PlayStation games, a pint of Guinness in the local pub, and reading Folio Society books, the Guardian and the poetry of Wilfred Owen.
Ian’s 1981 marriage to Susan (nee Adamson), ended in divorce in 2003. He is survived by their two sons, me and Dave, his older sister, Ann, and his younger brother, Donald.
