The voice of business in the Tees region | 17
Catherine Devereux talks
to Tees Business writer
Joanne Barrett about love,
loss, suicide and how the
Headlight Project is proving
to be the perfect tribute to
the well-known Teesside
haulier and husband she
adored.
H
appy, kind, fun-loving and easy-going
– that’s how anyone who knew Russ
Devereux would describe him.
Add in workaholic, a great sense of
humour and a love of playing golf and you
paint a picture that is held dear by his many
friends, colleagues and the family who were
so close to his heart.
Together with his wife Catherine, haulage
firm boss Russ set out to instil qualities
of confidence and resilience in their three
young daughters that will see them flourish
throughout their lives.
So when Catherine took to the stage at
the recent Tees Businesswomen Awards, it
was those qualities, so preciously gathered
from the type of person Russ was, that saw
her able to stand up and take the award –
and the applause – in the Inspiring Others
category.
Many Teessiders know Russ’s story by
now. In May 2018, aged just 41, he was
found beneath the Leven Viaduct, near
Yarm, after taking his own life.
A freak accident at Billingham’s Devereux
Transport and Distribution – the family firm
he ran – involving a staff member triggered
something in him, explains Catherine. He
started to worry and get anxious about the
effect it might have on the business, had
difficulty sleeping and lost his appetite. Just
ten days later, while following his wife and
the girls to a family barbecue, he turned
his car around and instead headed for the
bridge.
Telling it doesn’t get any easier for
Catherine but 18 months on she has forged
something incredible from the tragedy that
took hold of the Devereux family that day.
The Headlight Project, set up in Russ’s
name and memory, raises awareness of
mental health issues and suicide prevention
as well as delivering valuable emotional
resilience programmes to children in
schools.
Inspiring - Catherine's achievements
were recognised in the Tees
Businesswomen Awards.
If it can help anyone and prevent any
other family going through what they have,
says Catherine, putting Russ’s story out
there will have been worth it.
“I didn’t actually know I was being
nominated for the award so it was a lovely
surprise,” says Catherine, who is a solicitor.
“If I’m honest, I was a little bit embarrassed
to win because the Headlight Project is very
much a team and getting up on stage was
just about me when really, the project was
the reason for it.
“Together with Russ, we always said we
would teach our girls to be confident, to be
resilient, and I guess getting up on stage
was a way of celebrating that.
“He wasn’t your typical person to suffer
with depression or anxiety. A freak accident
occurred at work and it triggered something
in him and what happened was completely
unforeseen to any of us, that’s the thing.
“It was so quick too, ten days after the
accident at work. He started to worry and
get anxious over all the little things. He
was never off work and always seemed to
manage stress really well. He was a real
workaholic and an easy-going kind of a
person. But I managed to persuade him to
have a couple of days off and got him to the
doctors.
“The speed of it makes me think it
genuinely was not planned. He was
following me in the car, we were going to a
barbecue, he turned the car around.