TRIBUTES have been paid to the the Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd
Keith Jukes (right), after his sudden death at the age of
59.
On Tuesday, the diocese of Ripon & Leeds announced that Dean
Jukes had died "peacefully" in Harrogate District Hospital, after
being admitted hours earlier.
The Bishop of Ripon & Leeds, the Rt Revd John Packer,
described the news as a "great shock", and sent his love and
prayers to Dean Juke's family. "Dean Keith was greatly loved by the
cathedral community, and by people in the wider city," he said. "I
have lost a close colleague and personal friend."
Last Sunday, an announcement written by Dean Jukes was read at
the services in Ripon Cathedral, in which he said that tests had
revealed a growth in his upper abdomen which doctors had diagnosed
as cancerous. He wrote: "I know that come what may, God is with me,
and my life is in his hands. Please pray for me, and for Susanne
and our family. God bless you all, Keith."
Dean Jukes had been in post at Ripon for six years. Bishop
Packer suggested that the greatest of his achievements was his
vision for the west front of the cathedral, "where glass doors now
symbolise the cathedral's openness to the city".
It was announced on Tuesday that a requiem mass would be offered
for Dean Jukes at Ripon Cathedral on Wednesday. Details of his
funeral would follow.
www.riponcathedral.org.uk