My wife, Hazel Ball, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 60, worked for Exeter city council for 35 years, becoming head of environmental health in 1996 and strategic director in 2001. She retired in 2012 as director of community and environment, having been, in the chief executive’s words, an “outstanding public servant”.
Poor housing in the city politicised her; she had joined the Labour party in her 20s, but because of her strong belief in the need for council staff to be politically neutral was not able to campaign until she retired. Hazel was also active in her trade union and always said that this taught her more about what makes a good manager than any training course. She was trying to encourage hospital staff to join Unison right up to her death.
She was born in Bath, the elder daughter of Pearl and Charles Ball, and educated at Hayesfield school for girls. After graduating with a degree in biology from Plymouth Polytechnic (now Plymouth University), Hazel decided that a career involving people rather than being confined to the laboratory was the way forward. In the mid-1970s she was taken on as a trainee environmental health officer by Exeter city council.
We married in 1986 and moved to our first home, where our daughters, Lydia and Elly, were born. Hazel worked hard – getting into the office early so that she could get back to the girls – and still managed to organise parties, sleepovers, outings, holidays and Christmases.
She led on a number of major projects, including the introduction of the city’s recycling system, and was able to win substantial investment in the Riverside Valley Park, a place we enjoyed as a family. She particularly loved the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), and despite all the sleepless nights it brought, was proud to have been involved in seeing the museum redeveloped and winning awards.
Hazel made several trips to Russia. One visit, on which she escorted a party of councillors to Exeter’s twin city of Yaroslavl, was always remembered in our house as the time she almost left a Conservative councillor behind in Moscow.
She took to retirement enthusiastically: singing with Exeter Choral Society, making jam, tending our allotment. She became a cathedral guide and did online courses on a huge variety of subjects from Richard III to Andy Warhol. She also became vice-chair of Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau and was instrumental in developing better staff terms and conditions as well. In recognition of her work, the CAB is to institute an annual award in Hazel’s memory.
She is survived by me, Lydia and Elly, her parents and her sister, Sally.
