Obituary for former Chair Janet Guthrie

Janet Guthrie, 1936–2026

Age UK Camden’s former Chair and long serving trustee Janet Guthrie has sadly died aged 89.

Janet was a trustee from 2008–2022 and the Charity’s Chair from 2011- 2017.  Janet had also been a long serving trustee of Mind in Camden and Queens Crescent Community Association.

Before joining Age UK Camden (AUC), Janet had been a councillor for Gospel Oak ward and remained active campaigning for the local Labour Party in later life.

AUC’s former Chief Executive Officer Gary Jones said “Janet joined us after her term as a Camden councillor came to an end. She was enormously supportive of me personally and instrumental in developing Opening Doors London and Personalisation Support in Camden as subsidiary LGBTQ+ and disability charities respectively. Her background as a councillor and as a sociology and social work lecturer gave us a wonderful mixture of professional and communication skills, as well as extensive contacts in the Council and NHS.”

Mary Burd, who succeeded Janet as AUC’s Chair and has just finished her term of office, added “Janet preceded me as Chair and  was a hard act to follow; she made an enormous contribution not only during her time as Chair from 2011 to 2017 when she steered the organisation with Gary Jones as its CEO to its preeminent position as a Camden charity and the largest of the London Age UKs but also after she stood down when she remained as Chair of PSIC and a member of the boards of AUC and ODL.  Passionate about Camden and as a long serving councillor she brought her amazing knowledge and experience of the borough to her many roles in the organisation. Janet had strong views which she was not afraid to promote coupled with a highly principled moral compass, an unrelenting work ethic and a determination that the organisation headed by the Board should always be there for older people in Camden.  Her dedication to and interest in Age UK Camden remained long after she was no longer formally involved”.