In memory of Charles Leeming
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Depaul International's first Chair of Trustees, Charles Leeming, who died on 22 June 2010 at the age of 74. We will miss his support and wholehearted commitment immensely, which has continued unstintingly over the last 14 years.
Charles's family have very kindly requested that donations, in place of flowers, be made to Depaul International. Please click here to go to our donations page - once you begin the process there is a specific reference to making your donation in memory of Charles.
The words below cannot fully convey his huge contribution to the expansion of the Depaul group of charities and their work with the homeless and disadvantaged, but we hope will give an idea of the scope of his influence during that time.
Charles joined Depaul UK in March 1996 at the point when he was thinking about life beyond Wilde Sapte, where he was a senior partner. He had an interest in the issue of homelessness and he spent a lot of the early months visiting Depaul projects and carefully researching both the causes of homelessness and what works best in overcoming it. He always asked good, common-sense questions and once he had grasped the issue at hand he was a powerful advocate for the people we serve.
Certainly Charles's acknowledged expertise in insolvency could be said to be ideal training for a Depaul trustee, and his legal knowledge was put to good use during the early years of his involvement. As Treasurer he steered us through many cash crises and as the legal trustee he diligently worked at every level of the organization. From changes to our Memorandum and Articles to disciplinary hearings, to overseeing the purchase and disposal of assets. All dealt with professionally, calmly, and with a wonderful eye for detail.
As the Depaul group of charities expanded, so did Charles's role. He became one of our founding trustees in Depaul Ireland in 2001, and also sat on the boards of Depaul Slovakia and Depaul Ukraine.
In 2004 it was decided that Depaul would move towards a group structure. Charles not only created the legal mechanism for this but became the first Chair of the parent company Depaul International. As Chair Charles showed a great sense of diplomacy and took a lot of time to ensure that everybody was on board. He stepped down as Chair in 2009 although retained his position as legal trustee for the Depaul Group.
For such a competent man, it was amusing to see how some aspects of new technology could utterly defeat him. More than once at committee meetings his mobile phone would go off and Charles would be desperately pressing every button to no avail as Ride of the Valkyries blasted out. The stories of his boats were legendary with frequent engine failures and at least one rescue at sea. These stories were always told in a self-depracating way although those of our trustees who did sail with him knew how good a skipper he was and how much he loved his life at sea.
We shall miss him dreadfully. His shy constancy, his ready humour, his pragmatic determination, and commitment to our beneficiaries. His lack of self importance or self interest and the twinkle in his eye when he was playing devil's advocate. We at Depaul bless the memories of a great man and a trusted friend.
In Charles's memory we intend to set up the Charles Leeming Award which will be an annual grant allowing staff, volunteers or beneficiaries from across the Depaul Group to undergo training and development in order to help them and the overall functioning of the charity. The first award will be given later this year.
May he rest in the peace of God which passes all understanding but which he has surely earned.
