Kenneth John Carter

Born 12th July 1934 in Maidstone, Kent, Ken calmly passed away in the early hours of Tuesday 19th January 2021, aged.86 and but for Covid, his zest for life having already defied, I felt sure a century was in the making.

Ken, Dad, was a much loved, wondrous man, brother to Sheila, husband to Wendy (Animal Crackers), father to Sarah and Dan, grandfather to Phoebe, Lillith, Sam and Leo, Uncle to Maggie, Kath and Ann, a much loved man and “damn good friend” to all of us. Ken is, was and will continue to be a role model to me and anyone that met him, being learned, calm, polite, respectful, composed, loving, thoughtful, caring, inspiring, supportive and in his own way determined, all virtues I will continue to aspire to.

Ken lived for and thrived on people and interaction with, he made friends easily and inspired, which is why so many of us remember Ken so fondly. He simply loved life and all it had to offer, he would make his way to the shops and meet all comers with a smile and a chat or even philosophical debate. I admired and greatly loved Dad and was always being surprised by complete strangers who would come up and say, “you must be Dan, Ken’s son, what a lovely man Ken is” and I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart, he was.

Ken lived most of his life in and around Hampstead, from Fawley Mansions “Those were the days” and Ravenshaw St in West Hampstead, Marsfield Gardens and our Pet shop ‘Animal Crackers’ on Fleet Road NW3 to Golders Green and then East Finchley before spending his last years in Porthleven, Cornwall, enjoying his music and his sea view.

Ken chose the path of a guide from an early age and although not a religious man, Ken did follow the writings of Lao-tzu’s Tao Te Ching or The Book of the Way and strongly believed in the elements, Earth, Fire, Air and Water, writing a draft of how we all fit into 24 facial types reflecting how the elements align within us defining our traits and mannerisms.

After graduating from Oxford University, rather than find financial gain Ken opted to help children with learning difficulties and attracted to the progressive methods of teaching coming out of Burgess Hill, Hampstead, run by Headmaster, James 'Jimmy' East. This led to teaching spells in Hampstead School for Girls, Runneymede College, Madrid, Spain and Pardes House Primary School, East Finchley as well as conducting private tuition in English, History and Economics, proudly getting some into Oxford.

Ken’s passion, aside from guiding people, was in drama, classical music, art and literature with membership of the National Theatre, Barbican and Wigmore Hall, Ken enjoyed a cultured life, always disappearing of an evening to see and hear his favourite composers or quartet, eventually writing reviews for the Classical Source and the Archer, East Finchley’s newspaper.

Ken’s interests were not limited to major productions or recitals but also fringe, enjoying many footlights shows at New End and Hampstead theatres, and local amateur dramatics including the Hampstead ‘Garden Superb Theatre’, where he performed in many shows, local music from Jazz in the Red Hen to the East Finchley Arts Festival, in later years various groups in the U3A including History, Drama and Archaeology and of course Barbara Hepworth whose museum Ken visited a number of times.

Ken later had a desire to be a therapist and pursued a course to become a Counsellor, all oriented to helping guide people, for which we know Ken had plenty of time for everyone and his words were so well received.

I will never forget the wisdom and guidance Ken gave which is now somewhere within.

Ken will be laid to rest next to his beloved wife, Wendy, in a small close family ceremony at Highgate Cemetery, if anyone remembering Ken wishes to leave a tribute of any kind, long or small, any photo’s of Ken or support one of the listed charities instead of sending flowers.

In Loving Memory,

Dan Carter