Tributes paid to hospital gardening legend Ralph Howe
Tributes have been made to much-loved Kettering General Hospital gardener, Ralph Howe MBE, who has died in service after being one of the longest serving employees in the NHS.
Mr Howe, aged 81, worked in the hospital’s grounds – come rain or snow - for 64 years after he first joined the gardening team in 1959 aged 17.
He had a stroke on June 8 at his home in Kettering and died later at Northampton General Hospital on the night of June 13.
Friends and colleagues at the hospital have paid tribute to him for the way he elevated the hospital’s 33-acre grounds through many years of painstaking work on its lawns, flower beds, borders, hedgerows, and courtyards, and for being a friendly face always happy to chat with passing friends and colleagues.
Kettering General Hospital’s Director of Estates, David Pickett, said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ralph Howe, a dedicated member of our grounds maintenance team for 64 years.
“Ralph was a hard worker and always willing to go the extra mile and lend a helping hand. He was a very popular member of the team and a true inspiration to us all.
“He will be deeply missed by all who knew him, and his legacy will live on. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ralph's family and friends at this difficult time.”
Ralph’s partner Margaret Osborne, 89, met him about eight years ago on a holiday coach trip when they sat next to each other. After the holiday they met up regularly on Ralph’s day off when he travelled over to her home in Daventry.
She said: “He was kind, caring, sociable, and wonderful. He cared about everything and everybody and would do anything for you. He was the loveliest man I have ever known and I will miss him terribly.”
Groundskeeper Tom Murts has worked closely with Ralph and has fond memories of him and the example he set. He said: “He was the most honest and hard-working man I have ever known. He never took a sick day and never complained about anything.
“He was extremely knowledgeable about gardening and plants and knew an enormous amount including a lot of the Latin names. He preferred to work with his old tools rather than machines and like to do things by hand and do them properly.”
KGH’s Project Director, Strategic Estates, Ian Allen, has known Ralph for over 30 years. He said “Myself and Ralph often talked about the cricket and how the county club were performing – he always took a keen interest in how many runs I had scored at the weekend. I will miss our chats, he was a charming man and a loyal servant to Kettering General Hospital through six decades of service.”
Deputy Director of Estates Craig Catterick, who has known Ralph for 10 years, said: "Whenever I saw Ralph he was always happy in his work and always greeted me with "You all right Boy".
“Ralph always had time to talk about anything that was related to gardening which I found very helpful on many occasions. He will be greatly missed by all his Estates and Facilities colleges.“
Other colleagues described Ralph as ‘a lovely man’, ‘a true gentleman’, ‘a legend’, that the hospital would not ‘be the same without him’.
Ralph leaves a sister Margaret Wilson, a brother, Geoff Howe, he also had another brother Peter, now deceased. He was Uncle to Christopher Howe and his wife Angela (deceased), Martyn Howe and his wife Debbie, Paul Howe and his wife Suzette, and Alyson Howe and her partner Colin.