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Death of County Council Deputy Leader Jo Stephenson26/7/2014
Cumbria County Council's Deputy Leader Jo Stephenson sadly died last night in hospital.
Jo, who had been county councillor for Windermere since 2009 and Deputy Leader of the county council since 2013, was in the Royal Preston Hospital after suffering a fall at home three weeks ago. He had been making a good recovery and his diagnosis was looking optimistic earlier in the week, but it is thought he died from a massive stroke last night.
Jo was also South Lakeland District Councillor for Windermere Town and a leading voice in the Liberal Democrat Party in Cumbria. He had lived a rich and varied life with his wife Hilary and two children, working as a secondary school teacher and solicitor as well as running a bed and breakfast.
Cllr Stewart Young, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said:
“We are all enormously shocked by this very sad news. I worked very closely with Jo since the 2013 elections and found him to be a very decent and honourable man. He will be thoroughly missed by his many friends and colleagues in Cumbria.”
Fellow Liberal Democrat Cabinet member Cllr Clare Feeney-Johnson said:
“Jo was a personal friend as well as a political colleague and this is one of the saddest days I have known. Jo was an inspiration for many of us and gave up so much of his time and resources in order to try and make Windermere and Cumbria a better place. All of our thoughts are with Hilary and his family at this very distressing time.”
Jo’s family are requesting that the media do not attempt to contact them while they are grieving. A tributes page is being set up at http://www.cumbria.gov.uk and anyone wishing to make a tribute can contact webteam@cumbria.gov.uk.
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/news/2014/jul ... 114158.aspUnder-pressure Cumbria councillor took his own life, inquest hearsWednesday, 18 March 2015 A council boss under pressure over plans to install on-street parking charges across the county went on to jump from the roof of his Cumbria home, an inquest heard.
Jo Stephenson, deputy leader of Cumbria County Council, died on July 25 last year at the Royal Preston Hospital from a pulmonary embolism and bronchial pneumonia suffered as a result of his injuries.
A hearing in Kendal this morning was told the 59-year-old solicitor and former Lakes School teacher had also been ‘deeply distressed’ by ‘personal attacks’ made towards him over the internet.
These came as a result of the move to impose a parking tariff in 11 towns including Carlisle, Penrith, Cockermouth and Keswick.
It had resulted in him appearing 'distracted' in the fortnight before the incident.
A report from mental health consultant Dr Richard Morgan, of the Royal Preston Hospital, was read out during the inquest at Kendal Town Hall.
Dr Morgan stated the father-of-two had suffered a psychotic episode while in hospital in which he ‘lashed out’ at a pregnant nurse with a butter knife.
He also injured his own eye with the arm of his glasses and had said he wished the attempt upon his life had been successful.
South Cumbria deputy coroner Alan Sharpe gave a narrative verdict, stating that while Mr Stephenson had told medics he had intended to take his own life, it was not certain that he had been thinking clearly at the time of his fall.
“It’s quite clear Jo Stephenson was very well-loved and liked and had lived a very successful life," Mr Sharpe said.
“It’s quite clear from the transcript of the 999 call and from the evidence given by the paramedic that it was not an accident when he fell from the roof - whatever his state of mind he did jump from the roof."
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/under ... -1.1199873
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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin
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