My father, John Howick, who has died aged 86, had a varied career in accountancy and education, and then in his retirement helped to run a homeless hostel.
Born in Twickenham, Middlesex, to Charles Howick, a teacher, and his wife, Phoebe (nee Goddard), a nurse and midwife, he grew up in Surrey and Sussex, and during the second world war was evacuated to Devon. He attended Mayfield college boarding school in East Sussex.
After leaving school, he trained as an accountant at a firm in Guildford. He then did his national service with the Pay Corps in Taunton, Somerset, where he met Kathleen Bowditch. They married in 1957.
In the early 1960s John worked as an accountant for a family firm in Somerset with several farms in the dairy and milling sector. Following restructuring within the dairy and feed sector, the couple, now with two children, moved to Banbury, Oxfordshire, in 1975. Two years later John changed direction and took a post as a financial bursar at St George’s college, Weybridge, Surrey, where he worked for four years. In 1981 he moved to a similar position at Sherborne school in Dorset.
In each of his jobs he successfully implemented new computer technology when automated accounting systems were making their first significant appearance.
He was devastated when Kathleen died of ovarian cancer in 1988. His stoicism soon resurfaced, though, and he became the acting bursar at Sherborne, a role he found particularly rewarding.
After his retirement in 1992 he thrived in numerous voluntary roles: helping to run a homeless shelter in Yeovil, enjoying trips with both the Catenian Association, a Catholic lay fraternity, and the Sherborne twinning association. He also worked with the Fine Arts Association and British Heart Foundation.
He found a particular niche in the Somerset & Dorset Family History Society at a time when genealogy was being revolutionised by the internet and he was soon running the accounts for this organisation as it reached people all over the world. He was also steadfast in running the parish accounts and found great comfort and enjoyment at his local church, the Sacred Heart and St Aldhelm in Sherborne.
He is survived by his daughter, Helen, and me, and by his granddaughter, Kate.
