Mr. James Kenneth Stockdale

IT was with great sadness that the community learned of the death of Crossgar man Ken Stockdale, who passed away peacefully at home on July 28 following a long illness patiently born. He was 62.

The much loved husband of Violet and devoted brother of Abe and Nigel, with whom he shared a very close bond, his passing is deeply regretted by his loving family and friends.

Ken was born in Portadown into a police family. He was the second of three sons to much loved parents Jim and Emily (both deceased).

In the early 1950s he moved to Carrickfergus due to his dad’s police career. At Sunnylands Primary School he excelled at sports and he was proud of his large collection of medals and trophies for athletics.

On transfer to Carrick Secondary School he maintained his interest in sports and narrowly missed the Irish schoolboys’ record of 10.1 seconds for the 100 yard sprint. As well as athletics he was skilful at basketball and his height of six feet and one inch meant he was perfect for scoring the baskets.

Football was eventually his main passion and in his late teens he played for Barn United and Carrick Rangers seconds. He went on to become an avid fan of Chelsea Football Club and was loyal to them through their ups and downs.

He was a confident and academically astute student with strong leadership qualities, becoming deputy head boy in his final year at school.

He was a great team person and he loved the Boys’ Brigade and was part of the Air Cadet Force unit.

The family moved back to the original family home at Carnacaville, Newcastle. In June 1968 Ken met his future wife, Violet, in Newcastle and they recently celebrated 41 years of marriage.

He joined the RUC in June 1970 and his first station was Rosemount, Londonderry, in the heart of the Bogside.

Ken was badly traumatised whilst at Rosemount. On January 27, 1972, his patrol car was ambushed on returning to base and two of his colleagues, Sergeant Gilgunn and Constable Montgomery, were shot dead beside him. This affected him deeply throughout his life. After this incident he was transferred to Downpatrick.

He then went to Donegall Pass CID and he dealt with serious crime scenes during the Troubles with the Headquarters Crime Squad. He served in Newry, back to Downpatrick and finally retired from the RUC/PSNI in December 2001 from Willowfield station.

He loved his dogs, Pepe and Bailey, who were his constant companions, along with his wife, Violet. In his retirement walking the dog was a large part of his daily routine and doing crosswords.

Ken was renowned for his sense of humour and throughout his terminal illness he still had the ability to come out with some wonderful one-liners.

Since his discharge in May from the Downe Hospital he was looked after at home by a wonderful, caring team of health professionals.

The largely attended funeral service was held in Christ Church, Kilmore, on Wednesday, July 30, with burial afterwards at Drumee Cemetery, Castlewellan.