Tributes paid to Father Keith Brigham

Chaplaincy Team (2)

Father Keith Brigham, Catholic chaplain at Alderley Edge School for Girls, sadly passed away last week.

Father Keith, aged 65, collapsed and died while visiting friends in London on the evening of Friday 4th April 2014. He leaves behind his elderly mother Anne.

Father Keith was born on 11th August 1948 in Altrincham and was educated at William Hulme's Grammar School in Manchester. He then trained as a teacher in Manchester and taught before being ordained for the Anglican Ministry in 1975. In March 1999 he was received into Full Communion with the Catholic Church and was ordained Priest for this Diocese in September 2001 in St Vincent's, Altrincham.

Father Keith was appointed as Assistant Priest in St Anthony's, Wythenshawe. During his time there he worked in Wythenshawe Hospital and became their full time chaplain from 2004. In 2011 he retired through ill health and lived in the Timperley area.

Revd. Jane Parry said "Keith was a lovely man and a privilege to work with. He had been an Anglican priest in the part of Liverpool I come from and we had many acquaintances and memories in common. I am completely devasted by his death - the four AESG School Chaplains, Revd Ben, Chaplain Mary, myself anf Fr Keith were merrily chatting all the morning on the Thursday before he died and it is hard to believe he is no longer with us. I shall miss him, his wisdom and his friendship so very much.

"Our love and prayers go out to Mrs Brigham in her grief and all who feel loss and bereavement as his passing. A sad time for us all."

Rev Ben Clowes, the Methodist Chaplain at AESG said "Fr Keith had a great passion for his work with AESG and was a wonderful asset to the Chaplains team. He will be sorely missed."

Sue Goff, Headmistress at AESG, said "Father Keith was a much loved and greatly respected school chaplain at Alderley Edge School for Girls. He played an active part in the life of the school and only last week was present in school at services and assemblies. He had a superb gift for communicating with the girls of all ages and getting his points across in a way that they would understand and remember. He said mass for us several times each term and also took whole school assemblies as part of the school chaplaincy team.

"He worked closely with Chaplain Mary to train the girls and include them in worship as Eucharistic ministers and altar servers and they appreciated the time and care he took with them. He made a point of getting to know the girls, the staff, the parents and often supported the girls in their performances, whenever possible bringing his mother with him, who was also an important part of our school community. We will miss him tremendously, I personally will miss his kindness, his friendship, his sensitivity, and his wonderful sense of humour. Our heartfelt sympathy goes to his mother and all those who, like us, are in a state of shock and sadness on hearing this sudden news."

Chaplain Mary added "I worked with Fr Keith since starting at AESG nearly four years ago, and learnt a lot from him - he was always kind, helpful, supportive and had a really positive and optimistic outlook - he was a joy to work with! Everyone at school is shocked and saddened and it will be really hard without him."

On Wednesday 23rd April a Reception of the Body & Vigil Mass will take place at 7pm at St Vincent's, Altrincham. Then at 12 noon on Thursday 24th April a Funeral Mass will be held at St Vincent's, Altrincham followed by the cremation at 2pm in Altrincham Crematorium. Light refreshments will be served in Westleigh (next door to St Vincent's) following the Funeral Mass on the Thursday.

Photo: (l-r) Fr Keith Brigham pictured with Chaplain Mary, Rev Jane Parry and Rev Ben Clowes.

Tags:
Father Keith Brigham
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement