Mr Derek McKee

MR Derek McKee, who died peacefully at the Greenvale Nursing Home, Castlewellan on 14 October, aged 87, was a widely admired and respected resident of Downpatrick. 

Derek was the elder son of Mervyn and Kathleen McKee, born in Downpatrick on March 2, 1929.

He was one of the first to attend the preparatory department of the newly-opened Down High School, where he shone both academically and at sports. He played on the school rugby first XV from 1944 to 1947 and was capped for Ulster Schools as prop. 

On leaving Down High, Derek was apprenticed and trained in Ernie McKibbin’s architectural practice before he entered the planning department of Downpatrick Urban District Council. In 1973 he left and took up a post with Fold Housing, which was then just starting and had a staff of only two. By the time he retired in 1992 he had helped build it up to a staff of several hundred. 

Derek had two principal recreations. The first was shooting. He was an excellent shot and during the war he was allowed to shoot swans for meat for a local butcher due to the shortage of meat. He entered competitions and became Ulster .22 champion and took part in trials for the 1948 London Olympics.

His second love was motorcycling and engineering. He learned about fibreglass and produced and marketed the first Dolphin fairing which protected the riders’ legs from wind and increased the bike speed. BSA took his idea and applied it to racing bikes. They even offered him a job at their factory in Liverpool but he refused to leave Downpatrick. 

In 1954 Derek married Beth McMillan from Drumaghlis and their honeymoon was spent riding his Norton 500cc from Norway to Rome, then home again. They had three children, Glenn, Gary and Gaye.

Derek continued to motorcycle and was a member of Temple Motorcycle Club. He competed in motor bike trials for 20 years and helped steward the International Hurst Cup events at the Lead Mines for many years.

Through motorcycling, his work, interest in nature, the local environment and the development of Downpatrick, Derek built a wide circle of friends and neighbours, who continued to visit him after Beth died. He moved to Greenvale in 2009, where he received excellent care and support. 

The large number of people who attended the funeral service at Roselawn Crematorium, Belfast, on October 18 showed the respect and affection in which he was held.

Derek is survived by his three children and six grandchildren — Patrick, Richard, Connor, Tori, D’Arcey and Jedd.