Kevin was born into this world on August 9, 1933 to Harold and
Mary and lived with brother Raymond and sister Norma at Mascot.
During the war the family was relocated to Katoomba, from where
his Dad would travel to work in the small arms factory at Lithgow.
When the family returned to Mascot, Kevin continued his
education at Gardeners Road Junior Technical High School where he
came 2nd to the Dux with top honours in Woodwork,
Metalwork and Tech. Drawing. After leaving school, he became a
Cabinet maker.
Sport has always played an important role in Kevin’s life, as
he began playing tennis at 10, and was later selected as Captain
of the school tennis team, made up of Peter Purdy, Barry Toms and
one other player. The team made it through to the Finals in one
competition, only to be defeated by the Kogarah High team which
included Barry Pery and the one-and-only Ken Rosewall.
In 1955 at the age of 22, Kevin bought his first "brand new"
car. Picture this: an MGTF1900 yellow 2-seater sports model, with
Kevin at the wheel. So began Kevin’s love of sports cars, car
racing, and in particular model Jags, a collection of which was
his prized possession.
1958 saw a career change from Cabinet making to Real Estate,
where he thrived on sales and then went on to gain his Valuer’s
Certificate. He was actively involved in the Real Estate
Salesman’s union as well as the Real Estate Institute of New South
Wales.
Mavis Bailey (the local Bank Manager), remembers meeting
Kevin at his office in Regent Street Kogarah one lunch time, when
Kevin greeted her with, "Come in and join us, would you like a
pie?" They were always bought from the Cake shop opposite, with
the TAB right next door, and "what horse would you like to bet
on?" She says that they were the "good old days".
Kevin later moved to the Carlton premises and so "KM Winter"
became an icon in the St George area. Talk about a good salesman,
he made sure Mavis bought one of his houses. As she stepped off a
plane from an overseas trip he said: "No time like the present,
you have to buy this one and we can be neighbours."
Kevin had a very dedicated team, Barry and Pat, Howard and Fay
and Leslie and John. With their assistance for which he was very
appreciative, Kevin built a very well-respected Real Estate
business.
In 1963, Kevin married Gail and they soon adopted 2 beautiful
children, Anthony and Sallyanne. Anthony was involved in Soccer,
Squash and Tennis, while Sallyanne fell in love with horses. So
Kevin and Sallyanne would go Horseriding on Saturday afternoons
from the time she was 5.
Gail and Kevin were divorced some years later, and then in 1981
a great event happened. Cupid sharpened up his bow, when Mavis
arranged a blind date for Kevin. He had tickets to a Kogarah
Charity Art Show, and Mavis arranged for Yvonne to be Kevin’s
guest. Two years later, they were married at Kevin’s waterfront
property on Kogarah Bay.
Anyone who has been to any Veterans’ Tennis social function,
would be aware of Kevin’s "twinkle toes" on the dance floor, as he
was an excellent ballroom dancer. He also excelled in snow skiing,
enjoying many trips overseas and to Thredbo with Yvonne and
friends Denny and Eddie Turner. It was a love he also shared with
Anthony and Sallyanne.
It was Alan Bailey who introduced Kevin and Yvonne to the
Veterans’ tennis circuit, where they both sharpened up their
skills, both here in Sydney and interstate. Unfortunately, Kevin’s
health held him back, so he decided to become involved in the
administration side of things. Kevin will always be remembered for
his Player Profiles that featured regularly in the "Vetscore", and
also for his generous sponsorship. He was always seen hovering
around at tournaments, camera in hand, taking note of results and
chatting with players and non players alike.
Kevin and Yvonne sold their Kogarah Bay home and moved to
Centennial Park, where they were close to both White City Tennis
Club and Bonnie Doon Golf Club. Kevin spent many days with the
help of friend, Ken Taylor, renovating the place, and with
Yvonne’s Interior Decorating skills, they made a most beautiful
home together. Indeed they have done the same with the apartment
at Pyrmont, but without the hard work of renovating. Kevin loved
to watch the movement of boats on the Harbour, and the peace it
gave him really helped through those last few painful months.
Kevin will always be regarded as a true gentleman and a
wonderful caring friend who always had time for us. He never did
say a bad word about anyone. If you asked him how he was he would
reply, "Super Duper!" He was not in any way vindictive, but he had
a dislike of negative people and of those who had no consideration
for others. Kevin will always be remembered with love and respect.
From Mavis Bailey’s eulogy, edited by Robyn Castle.
From long-time friend Eddie Turner:
As you know, Kevin loved to speak in foreign languages. On one
of our trips, we were in a lift when a group of Japanese tourists
got in. Kevin said, "listen to this…. my Japanese is pretty good."
What did he come out with in a loud voice? "Honda, Toyota, Suzuki,
Kawasaki etc." The Japanese didn’t crack a smile. That was Kevin.
Kevin loved his tennis, car racing, golf and snow skiing. Kevin
bought a new Jaguar which he only had for a short time but did
manage to go on a driving trip and visit his country friends. He
was a car enthusiast and had a great collection of replica jaguar
racing cars. We recently put the cars into a showcase on his study
wall so he could enjoy looking at them as he sat at his desk. One
of these cars is on display here today, as is the new Jaguar.
He also loved his golf and was a member of Bonnie Doon Golf
Club. He said his favourite hole was the 9th and he
bragged he could always birdie this hole.
Kevin was a member of "Leatherbarrel Ski Lodge" at Thredbo
Village where we all skied and stayed. Then later on we skied at
Campatello in Italy, Aspen and Vail in USA and Zermatt in
Switzerland, as well as Banff, Lake Louise and Whistler in Canada.
Kevin loved to say he skied in the shadow of the Matterhorn in
Switzerland.
Kevin was well known for going to sleep at the dinner table
after a few wines. He would suddenly wake and be back into the
swing of things, telling jokes as if nothing had happened.
At one of my birthday parties, Kevin donned the chef’s hat and
as always, liked to be the centre of attention. He jumped in and
was carving the ham when he accidentally kicked the leg of the
card table and there was a hell of a crash as 40 plates hit the
floor. Poor Kevin couldn’t believe the result but just kept
carving!
Kevin was a gentle person but he really met the challenge
throughout the months of his illness. He was positive and thought
he would win the battle. If you rang or called in he would greet
you with "what a great day!"
One of Kev’s wishes was to have some of his ashes taken to the
top of Crackenback Mountain in Thredbo and scattered to the four
winds. I will be doing this next August when I ski with a group of
friends.
We were sad to see him suffer the pain and general discomfort
he endured and we felt for Yvonne in her efforts to tend Kevin
during his illness and now her loss.
Kevin was a good friend and a loyal mate. He loved a joke and
fun times and we will miss him greatly.
From Alison Ide, former TSA Secretary and now President, ACT
Seniors.
Kevin was Honorary Publicity Officer for vets’ (now seniors’)
tennis for many years. He was the first member to take on this
task and did so in the interests of trying to promote vets’ tennis
and in particular to let members know results of representative
teams competing overseas and in Australia in the years before the
present arrangement of getting news via the web.
Kevin wrote many interesting articles on matches he watched, as
well as compiling profiles of prominent veteran players. While
this was a strong personal interest it was very time consuming and
at times frustrating when news was not sent through. He will be
remembered with fondness by all who knew him and for his personal
commitment to the promotion and due recognition of veterans’
tennis.
From Robyn Castle:
|
Kevin at 'The
Elizabeth' - his most recent home |
Kevin
handed over the role of Publicity Officer when he knew he had a
battle with cancer ahead of him. He gave me many folders and lots
of his treasured books on tennis. I assured him that it was in
good hands, and he periodically called me to ask how I was going
with things. It was great to have him there to talk to, and now I
will miss him terribly. I have often found copies of articles or
profiles done by Kevin, and they always make good reading.
|
I was lucky to have some time with Kevin on Wednesday May 23,
when he had been admitted to St Vincent’s Hospice, thanks to a
text message from Yvonne, and I showed him the lovely photo of him
and Yvonne in Vetscore. Kevin was telling me that he had wanted to
do a profile about Alan Bailey, and as I was straining to hear
what he said, a tear rolled down my cheek. I was close to his face
as he wiped it away and kept on talking. I promised Kevin that I
would do it for him. When I left the room, I burst into tears on
Alan Bailey’s shoulder. I knew he was going….
