Kevin Lavelle, the last northern night editor of the Daily Telegraph in Manchester, has died at age 77.
Lavelle suffered a heart attack only a few days after he was diagnosed with cancer and he died at the Royal Blackburn Hospital in his home town of Darwen, Lancashire, on 24 October.
Born in Liverpool, Lavelle started out his career in journalism as a reporter for the Southport Visiter. He quickly progressed and worked as a sub-editor for a number of newspapers including the Manchester Evening Chronicle and the Daily Mail in Manchester, and the Liverpool Daily Post where he was chief sub-editor. He then went on to work for the News of the World before moving to the Daily Telegraph where he became the last northern night editor.
Chris Lee, friend and former colleague of Lavelle at the Daily Telegraph said: “Kevin was a great methodical and caring journalist, both regarding his work and his colleagues.
“In my days at the Telegraph in Manchester I sat next to him on many evenings when he was chief sub and I was copy-tasting. He was a demanding but totally fair executive, and I always left at the end of the night with the feeling of a job well done, largely due to Kevin's unfailing news sense.
“Out of the office, he was an absolutely loyal friend and a gentle, kind man who would do anything for anybody.”
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