Jim Hall JIM Hall (67), who has died in Portugal, was a jazz drummer who lived and worked in the UK, Paris and Portugal. He left Maidstone Grammar School and began a career at Reed’s Paper Mill, Tovil, where he was being groomed for management, but his love of jazz led to him forging a new career. Jim’s friend Bennie Symonds


said: “Jim was an articulate, ele- gant and intelligent man; a natu- ral musician and a real bohemian.” Jim got married and was fa-


ther to Elizabeth, Alison and Roman. His talents also in- cluded photography (in which he had a degree from Maid- stone College of Art) and cricket. He played as a wicket keeper for Linton Park Cricket Club for many years. Wherever he lived, he contin-


ued to return to Maidstone and stay with his mother near the cricket ground. Jim leaves his mother, sister, children and grandchildren.


Andre and Pam


McKnight ANDRE McKnight (82) and his wife Pamela “Pam” (85) lived in Coxheath for around 50 years and both died re- cently – Pam in May and Andre in Sep- tember. The couple


met when Pam worked for the army and Andre began serving in the area. He was the son of a serv- ing soldier who had been born abroad and grown up and joined the army inWiltshire. Married for 49 years, they


raised children Paul and Lucia. Another son, John, died as a baby. Andre left the army in 1970 and worked as a civil ser- vant until he retired. As the


We will remember


children got older, Pam re- turned to work, taking a job with Cigna Insurance. Daughter Lucia said: “My dad


loved carpentry and making things,healsospentalot of time gardening. My mother loved animals, was very caring and warm and a strong person. “Both my parents were regu-


lar churchgoers andwent to the Holy Family Church in Park Wood and St Francis’ Church onWeek Street. Theyweremar- ried in St Francis’ Church.” Andre and Pam leave their surviving children, grandchil- dren Jade and Jarvis and great- granddaughter Brooke.


Chris Chappell CHRISTOPHER “Chris” Chap- pell (89) spent the final 23 years of his life in Tovil Mill, moving locally after retiring from a ca- reer in carpentry. Born and


raised in Croy- don, he was initially self- employed, working for one employer converting houses in Lon- don into bed- sits and accommodation for nurses. Chriswas the youngest of eight children. During the war his service took him across Europe, through France and into Ger- many.Hewas involved in the D- Day landings, and lost one of his brothers in the conflict. Chris was father to Eric, Ray- mond, Christopher, Gary, Tracey and Cherie. His wife Jean said: “Chris loved animals, we kept rabbits for the children, and he enjoyed gardening. He was a quiet and homely man.” Chris was the last survivor of


the eight children in his family. He leaves his wife, children, 17 grandchildren and eight great- grandchildren.


Edith Gooding EDITH Gooding (94), who died at the Poplars Nursing Home in Tonbridge Road, Maidstone,


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founded the first pre-school playgroup in Maidstone in the mid 1960s, at St Luke’s Church Hall. She established a playgroup


in Mangravet and trained other people to be playgroup leaders at the Adult Education Centre. Born Edith Jenner, she was known to friends as “Jen” for many years. Having won a scholarship


from Staplehurst Village School she was educated at Ashford High School, then worked as a companion to help a family with four young boys, travelling with them to Poland for a year. She returned to train as a nan- nie at Norland College in Bath. Edith returned to Maidstone to be near her parents when war broke out. She met husband Denys – a senior commercial clerk for local grocer Charles Arkcoll – when she wasworking for Mid- land Bank in Maidstone. The couple married in 1945, living in Farleigh Lane and Curzon Road, Maidstone. They raised daughters Valerie, Heather and Jackie. She was a member of the local Soroptimists for many years, was on the committee of the local Guide Parents’ Group and of the MGGS PTA, becoming chairman. She had to copewith ill health over many years, in- cluding major surgery on her back in 1993 and a hip replace- ment in 2008. Her eyesight had been poor


since childhood. She loved reading, crosswords and play- ing Scrabble until she lost her sight completely in 2008. Valerie said: “My mother was


very independent, long-suffer- ing and very patient. She loved working with children and it was this that led St Luke’s Church to invite her to start the pre-school playgroup.” After being widowed in


1974, Edith moved to Bristol to help one of her daughters with her family. She returned to Maidstone in 1987, living in Old Church Court and later


in Rycault Close, off Ton- bridge Road. Edith leaves her daughters,


three grandchildren and four great-granddaughters.


Esther Taylor ESTHER TAYLOR (81),most re- cently of Mount Lane, Bearsted, and formerly of Harrietsham and Smarts Cottage, Bearsted Green, worked for about 20 years as a teacher of art in Swadelands School, Lenham. Born Esther


Hall in Nor- ton, Stockton- on-Tees, she met and mar- ried husband of around 25 years, Bill. He became amature student at Oxford and was later headmaster at Swadelands and Oldborough Manor (now New Line Learning Academy). The couple raised children Nick, Sarah and Katie. Esther trained as a teacher at Bromley before taking her job at Swadelands. Daughter Sarah said: “My mother and father had a wide range of friends and were well- knownwithin the community.” Widowed in 1985, Esther re-


tired and moved to Bearsted Green, where she met new part- ner Sandro Braga at Bearsted and Thurnham Bowling Club. Daughter Sarah said: “My mother kept up her interest in art after retiring and knew local artists including Graham Clarke. She remained very in- telligent, very interested in lots of things and easily able to beat others in the family at getting


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