Henry Long writes:
THE Revd Dr Malory Makower was a clergyman who combined being a parish priest with theological training; the latter had a firm focus on the non-stipendiary ministry.
Malory Makower was born in London in 1938. Malory attended Westminster, and it was at the end of his time there that he came to faith. He proceeded to Trinity College, Dublin, where he read natural sciences. At Trinity, he was active in the Christian Union, and was a member of the fencing team which won the Irish University Championship’s Frank Russel Trophy in 1960 and the Irish Intervarsity Championship in 1961.
After Trinity, Malory went to St John’s College, Oxford, where, at the School of Botany, he undertook research on the genetics of yeast. Together with Alan Bevan, who later became Professor of Botany at Queen Mary College, he discovered the “killer” yeast phenomenon, which had practical commercial applications. He was awarded a D.Phil. in 1964.
Malory trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, and was ordained deacon in 1966 and priest in 1967. He served his title at St Paul’s, Onslow Square, before its amalgamation with Holy Trinity, Brompton. Thereafter, he spent his entire ministry in East Anglia.
In 1968, he returned to Ridley Hall as a tutor. While there, he was an occasional book reviewer for The Church of England Newspaper. He was appointed senior tutor in 1971 and, in the challenging time that followed the resignation of the Revd Francis Palmer in 1972, became acting Principal. He was subsequently Vice-Principal.
In 1976, Malory left Ridley Hall to become Priest-in-Charge of Bottisham and Lode with Longmeadow, and Director of Training of Auxiliary Pastoral Ministry in the diocese of Ely. While at Lode, he established a monthly village magazine and, jointly with his first wife, was its initial editor. Inevitably, but also appropriately, the magazine was called the Lode Star. Forty-eight years later, it is still in publication.
The Lode years were busy ones for Malory: throughout his incumbency (1976 to 1984), he was also the Diocesan Communications Officer, and, from 1980, he was additionally Chaplain to HM Detention Centre Kidlington, at the time a young offenders’ institution. In 1979, he was elected to Lode Parish Council.
The East Anglian Ministerial Training Course (EAMTC) was founded in 1977 by the merger of the Ely Training Course and the Norwich Ordination Course. It was intended as a “theological college without walls” for the East Anglian dioceses and for Methodist and URC candidates. Initially, there were two wardens: Malory for Ely and Canon James O’Byrne (a former Principal of Clifton Theological College) for Norwich. In 1980, Malory was appointed sole principal, by which time there were 16 men training for the non-stipendiary ministry. He remained Priest-in-Charge of Lode at the same time as running the EAMTC. Lode Vicarage was cavernous, even by Victorian standards, and the course was conducted in it.
In 1984 Malory moved to Great Yarmouth, initially as a curate and later as Team Vicar; he was also the examining chaplain to the Bishop of Norwich. He later became Director of Post-Ordination Training for NSMs in Norwich and Diocesan NSM Ministry Officer. By 1990, he was responsible for the care of 35 NSMs in the diocese. In 1993, he took on yet another position, becoming Principal of Norwich’s LNSM Training Scheme. This was intended to foster the formation of local ministry, both lay and ordained. He became full-time Principal in 1995, retiring in 1997. He had been made an honorary canon of Norwich Cathedral in 1994. In retirement, he held permission to officiate in Norwich.
In 1967, he married Noel Stokes, whom he had met at Onslow Square. The marriage ended in divorce in 1987. In 2003, he married a widow, Jackie Grimble (née Long). Jackie became a local lay minister, and together they ministered in Gunton parish, in Lowestoft.
He is survived by Jackie, his four children, Caroline, Philip, Sandra, and William, and his stepson, Ralph.
The Revd Dr Malory Makower died on 2 October, aged 87.