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Obituary: Kevin Mayhew

by
05 February 2021

Nick Fawcett writes:

MANY across the country will have been deeply saddened to learn of the death of Kevin Mayhew on 14 January, after a short infection.

Kevin was born on 13 December 1942 to Walter and Alice Mayhew. Educated at Westminster Cathedral Choir School and then St Edmund’s College, Ware, he left aged 16 — in what turned out to be a smart career move — to work in publishing, first for Ascherberg Publishers, and then for the Catholic Herald. He also studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (piano and voice), but stayed only a year or two, until his money ran out.

In 1980, he married Barbara, the love of his life, of whom he said in an interview with the Church Times back in 2006: “If I had to be locked in a church with anyone, it would be with her. I enjoy her company” (Features, 15 September 2006). During these early years, Kevin was heavily involved in voluntary work within the disabled community. For example, he organised the music for the big service for people with learning difficulties held at Westminster Cathedral each year — an event that often finished with a conga around the church.

A gifted composer, with a passion for music, Kevin was a chorister at Westminster Cathedral, later — in the mid-1960s — becoming choirmaster of the Sacred Heart, in his home town of Southend-on-Sea. His work was quickly recognised, not least when, at the age of 28, he wrote and self-published a setting for the Roman Catholic mass in English, which in no time sold more than 100,000 copies, earning him enough money to launch, in partnership with a member of his choir, the hymn-book publishing house Mayhew-McCrimmon.

Then, in 1976 — the same year in which he wrote the much-loved hymn (both words and music) “Peace, perfect peace, is the gift of Christ our Lord” — Kevin struck out on his own, forming Kevin Mayhew Ltd, which he drove forward with incredible energy and vision, offering an invaluable resource in doing so to Christians of every denomination. Although hymn books remained central to the company, it was soon offering an enormous range of Christian resource books, together with music scores, tutors and recordings, church supplies, gifts, and cards. It has continued to serve the Church, in all its many forms — as well as countless musicians — to this day.

The Kevin Mayhew book list reflects a similar openness. While the company started out publishing simply Roman Catholic hymn books, it was soon producing these for the Anglican Church also, as well as for wider use, and, although one eye is always kept, when publishing devotional and resource material, on the Common Worship lectionary, the other is equally focused on non-lectionary users.

Kevin’s great love of music — he had yearned, as a boy, to become a professional pianist — was perhaps nowhere better illustrated than in the series of concerts that he organised across the country in 2004 and 2005, titled Concerts in Churches. Featuring artists such as Julian Lloyd Webber and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, these gave people the chance to hear performances of a quality that, for many, was a rare treat.

Kevin was hugely charming, with that special gift of making those whom he met feel instantly at ease. And the charm was no façade: he genuinely cared about people, offering encouragement and support to many, not least the numerous authors whom he helped to nurture. He was also a man of passionate convictions, committed to seeking social justice for all, standing up against oppression, and working for world peace.

A lifelong Labour Party supporter, he consistently expressed his faith through deeds as well as words, not just participating in numerous marches and campaigns, but giving a sizeable proportion of the profits of Kevin Mayhew Ltd — a fairtrade company — to charity throughout his time as its managing director. He was one of those few people of whom it could truly be said that he practised what he preached.

For those who knew and loved him, it was a terrible shock when Kevin was diagnosed around five years ago with the cruel disease progressive supranuclear palsy, an illness that was slowly to rob him of the awesome vitality that had previously characterised his life. Yet, if his body was increasingly laid low, his spirit remained undiminished, illustrated by his composing the music and selecting the words for A People of Peace: a reflection in words and music on the horror of war and the hope of a brighter tomorrow.

Kevin leaves behind his wife, Barbara, seven hugely talented daughters, together with 15 grandchildren and a large extended family, all of whom brought him special joy. His passing leaves them and us so much the poorer, but his life and legacy leave us immeasurably rich.

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