Steve Lismore obituary

My partner, Steve Lismore, who has died aged 71 in a climbing accident in Italy, was a civil servant and local politician with twin passions for giving children a good start in life and establishing equality of access to employment. Steve’s energy and commitment to action has had a lasting impact across north Derbyshire. Born in Toronto, Canada, to Violet (nee Greaves), a secretary, and Basil Lismore, a toolmaker, Steve loved reading and excelled at Bayview Heights school, Ontario, skipping a grade and winning awards at science fairs. His approach to life was formed in his teens. He combined adventure, practicality and ingenuity as he coaxed cheap motorbikes to ever improved performance. Steve’s bond with his sisters, Lydia and Carolyn, was forged through their childhood difficulties of having an alcoholic father and a mother dealing with anxiety. This experience meant that he offered an encouraging approach to almost everyone he met. After graduating from York University in Toronto, he made a permanent move to the UK in 1978 to take a master’s degree in English literature at Aberystwyth University, where he met Jenie Thompson. They married in 1982 and lived in Chesterfield, Derbys