DOJ's Kevin Deeley passes away

An IT fixture at the Department of Justice, 55-year-old Deputy CIO Kevin Deeley, passed away over the weekend, an agency spokesman confirmed to FCW on Feb. 12.

“It is with deep sadness that I am letting you know the heartbreaking news that Kevin Deeley passed away over the weekend,” Assistant Attorney General Lee Lofthus wrote in an internal memo to Justice Management Division staff on Feb. 12. “Kevin’s passing is a huge loss for [the Justice Management Division], the Department, and the entire federal IT community."

“We will feel his loss keenly in the OCIO and throughout the department,” DOJ CIO Joseph Klimavicz wrote in another internal email to staff over the weekend. “My condolences to each of you who had the good fortune of knowing Kevin and are now grieving the loss of a dear friend and an inspiring mentor.”

The Justice Department did not disclose the cause of death, and did not immediately say who might step into the vacancy Deeley leaves behind.

Deeley had a long history with the agency, first joining it in 1984, serving at the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. He was named deputy CIO in 2012 and managed the CIO Office’s internal operations, including policy, process and the delivery of applications, networks, security and data center services. When Luke McCormack left the agency for the Department of Homeland Security in December 2013, Deeley served as acting CIO for five months until Klimavicz came to DOJ.

Deeley also received two Federal 100 awards for his work at the department.

In 2007, he was recognized for spearheading departmentwide initiatives for protecting data and developing a unified network that led to the creation of the Justice Security Operations Center. In 2014, he was honored for filling in as acting CIO and for leading the Information Security and Identity Management Committee at the CIO Council.

Deeley also received four consecutive Office of Personnel Management Outstanding SES Performance Awards, the Vice President’s Hammer Award and the Justice Department's IT Security IT Implementation Award.