A Eulogy For Ken Johnson
Charles Kenneth was born to Ethel and Donald Johnson on 15th October 1943, the youngest of a family of four - following his siblings Donald, Dorothy and Barbara. Ken's childhood set the pattern for the rest of his life, an adventurous and creative one, he was interested in just about everything, he loved looking at the stars and mixing chemicals that blew things up.

He met his soul mate Pam in 1968, she fondly recalls, answering the door to find the then biker Ken in his best corduroy jacket, looking for a date. When he left he produced a calling card and told Pam very formally that if she wanted to see him again, she should ring the number. However Ken pre-empted her by turning up the next night to ask her out again and Pam agreed to go out with him. Like anyone who met Ken in any capacity, she found herself not so much welcomed into his acquaintance as plunged headlong into his world and they spent their first few dates looking around graveyards and gravestones with which Ken was fascinated!

Ken was much loved by his parents and in-laws but they were far from immune to his accident-prone helpfulness - Pam recalls him mixing chemicals that left his mother's kitchen bright pink - but despite everything Ken remained irrepressibly helpful, especially to his mother-in-law whom he always addressed as Mrs Gerraghty - He tried to solve her mouse problem by blowing up the trees in the garden with gunpowder. Ken hadn't been shy with his quantities and the resulting explosion converted the garden into a large hole and left two garage roofs covered in debris Ð history does not recall what happened to the mice but its very doubtful they caused further problems!

As romance blossomed between Ken and Pam, he decided he should embrace the Catholic faith in order for them to be married in the Church. This entailed regular visits to Father Ryan for instruction. Ken, being the generous and fair-minded soul that he was, decided that he should reimburse Father Ryan for the gas used to heat the room. Father Ryan was having none of it and before Ken could give him money, Father Ryan hurried from the room and disappeared into a maze of corridors with Ken in hot pursuit. Upon catching up with the unfortunate churchman, Ken accidentally stepped on the hem of his robes resulting in an undignified fall face down with Ken sprawling on top of him. Pam was firmly admonished that if she were to marry him she must "Keep Charles in hand".

On the 22nd November 1969 Pam and Ken were wed . . by Father Ryan . . at the Church Of Ennunciation in Chesterfield. They moved from Chesterfield to Skegness, then to Tenby, before moving back to settle in Skegness. During his working life Ken had many trades, before their marriage he had been a railway signalman and he later became a printer, a hairdresser, a wigmaker, and a jeweller. One of the most rewarding jobs was the seven years he spent working alongside Pam as a carer in the paraplegic block at the Miner's Holiday Camp in Skegness. He was always appreciated by the disabled miners for his gentle manner and attentive respect for their personal dignity. Of course Ken's working life was as filled with well-meaning chaos as his home and social one, there were many incidents - a woman's hair turned purple and a train was derailed!

At 44, Ken suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. He filled his time with hobbies which were also many, varied and often scholarly, they included Lapidary (the study of rocks and gemstones) Writing, Drawing, Gardening, Astronomy and Mythology, with a particular interest in all things Celtic. He took a variety of classes including pottery, forensic science fingerprinting and creative writing. With his brilliant mind and skillful hands, Ken was unsurprsingly musical as well Ð he played violin, organ, banjo, whistle and drums but, as ever, he was somehow drawn to hobbies perhaps less suited to a track record of accidents: Ken became keen on Dancing, Cycling, Ice Skating, Scuba Diving and clay pigeon shooting!

But for all this, there was one hobby that held infinite dedication and fascination for Ken and one that Pam must have come to dread whenever Ken decided to embark upon it: DIY.

Ken wasn't bad at DIY, on the contrary he was a perfectionist and all his work, when eventually complete, was absolutely first rate, it was just that along the way he and Pam had to survive fires, floods and every imaginable household disaster. One of the most memorable was when Ken was stripping paint from a door with a blow torch (you can maybe see where this one is going . . . !) The blow torch didn't appear to be working properly so Ken decided he would sit comfortably in the lounge while he investigated the problem. Equally naturally, when the blow torch inevitably burst into flames, Ken simply dropped it. In order to prevent the spread of fire he proceeded to kick it around the room but this didn't have quite the desired effect. Pam was upstairs at the time and was alerted to the fact that all was not well by Ken announcing loudly and repeatedly "Do not panic. The house is on fire. Do not panic. The house is on fire." Pam knew the situation was getting worse with Ken's next prouncement: "Abandon house! Abandon house!" Ken came upostairs to Pam's rescue which he thought could be best accomplished by her climbing out of the bathroom window and either shinning down the drainpipe or making a rope by tying bedsheets together. Ken forgot the bathroom window was tiny and all Pam could really do was to hang out of it calling for help. Luckily the gas cannister emptied itself and the fire went out unaided. Although the carpet and furniture were badly damaged by the bouncing blow torch, in the aftermath Ken suffered no more injury than a singed beard.

But of all the things Ken did in his life his spirituality was perhaps his greatest adventure. Ken was drawn from Catholicism to Spiritualism (an interest he shared with Pam) and later this interest evolved into Paganism. Here he found a wide and appreciative circle of friends as he became equally well respected and loved in the pagan community, again for his unassuming and gentle manner while imparting his knowledge to others. Ken's knowledge of our pagan heritage was as broad as it was deep and it welled up from inside him during his unstoppable and ever-digressing speeches which his friends used to love to goad him into, you could spend the whole might listening to Ken and never ever get bored . . .

Everyone who met Ken through paganism considered themselves fortunate to have done so, we will always feel extremely proud to have been associated with him, to have stood in magic circles and walked pagan paths with him, we have been honoured and blessed by his friendship and brotherhood and his closest pagan friends like Monica are very proud indeed to have been with him until the very end.

In 2005, a new love entered Ken's life in the shape of his niece, Wendy's son. It is no exaggeration to say that Ken doted on little Alexander, he was the first to hold him after his birth and Alexander brought him love, joy and perhaps even peace. Ken's caring nature was never far from the surface and over his last few years he gave many hours to care for other people nearing the end of their own lives Ð first, helping his devoted sister Barbara with his mother, then caring for Pam's father, and finally sitting with his dear friend, Cynthia.

But it was in the care of others that Ken spent the last few months of his life. He suffered increasing ill-health but he was acutely aware of his care and his carers, his gratitude and appreciation were always at the front of his mind and were he speaking to you now Mark, and Joyce and Michael, he would thank you for your care but also bless you for the love, care and support you have shown, and continue to show, for Pam.

Ken's spirit passed from this world on Wednesday, 10th December 2009. He would not wish for us to dwell on his last months, but to remember him as he was in the rest of his days, a joyful, gentle, honest, funny and caring man. Ken's presence in our lives was always accompanied with laughter, he had a fantastic gift for finding his own misfortunes unaccountably hilarious and he was frequently prevented from finishing his tales and stories by his own uncontrollable mirth. I urge any of you who speak of Ken to listen closely when you do for amidst the inevitable laughter Ken's own laughter will also be present . . . as will his knowledge, his wisdom, his memory and his love. As pagans we know that life does not simply end, we are not parted by death and Ken and his spirit are not lost to us . . . in fact they'll be here any minute, they probably just stopped for a flask of tea . . and to study the wrong map . . .