Kevin John Dove

Kevin John Dove
tragically taken on 5th August 2008 aged 41
Kev worked as a Roofer/Cladder untill recently when he changed his carreer and worked in
engineering.
Kev lived most of his life in Hucknall and attended Annie Holgate comp.
Kev's Family are mother Sylvia, 2 Sisters Elaine & Paula and 3 brothers Pete, Mick & Ged. Kev's
father Peter passed away 4 years ago to which Kev never really got over,
Kev was a very tallented musician and for a number of years Kev played Bass guitar in a vey popular
Leicestershire rock band called Men in frocks and he was known as the Baldy Bass Man. Kev was a good
sportsman playing in goal at football but Kev's first love was Golf, a very tallented golfer at one
stage playing off a handicap of 4.
Kev was the youngest member of the family and was deeply loved by all and will be sadly missed by
all who knew him

Kevs Eulogy written and read out at his funeral by his best mate Brad

“Get up you lazy dog!” that was Kev’s early morning greeting.
He’d shout it through my letter box on a Saturday morning waking me earlier
than I would have wanted, reminding me that we had an early morning tee
time at the golf club despite a howling gale and prospect of snow.

Kev was the youngest of four brothers and two sisters and as a result was naturally competitive.
If anything was worth doing, Kev wanted to excel at it.
Kev was passionate about golf and his enthusiasm for sport, music and
life in general was contagious.

Kev approached golf with real tenacity and considered it the ultimate
challenge. He was Captain of his local golf society and had a fine collection
of trophies and medals.
Kev and I played golf in all weathers, rain, fog and on one
occasion a snow storm at Bramcote Waters which denied Kev an eagle
putt because the ball was twice its size by the time it reached the hole.
Much to the relief of the rest of us the game was declared void and we
headed to the pub for an early lunch.

I was so proud of Kevs successes, the Pro-Am tournaments, trophies and annual
visits to St Andrews. I was also secretly envious of his recent triumph when he
shot a personal best four over, par 74 . . . while working away in Croydon. . .
when Kev showed me his score card I noticed that he hadn’t filled in his name,
so I asked for a pen and pretended to write in M Bradbury while he
roared with laughter.

I met Kev some 15 years ago when we both worked in Hinckley for a
Childrenswear manufacturer. Kev was Cutting Room Manager and the two
of us worked in the basement of the building and would take turns in being
first to the coffee machine in a morning. I found out that Kev played guitar
and that we both liked the same kind of music and had much in common.
I was singer a band and on one occasion the band was short of a bass player
for a local booking. . . . So I walked into Kev’s office that morning, delivered
a black with no sugar and asked him ‘What are you doing tomorrow night
Kev?’ “No plans” he said to which I replied, “Good! You’re playing bass guitar
then cos were a man down.” Kev rose to the challenge and played bass the
following night with no rehearsal and only a few scribbled notes,
watching the rest of the band for cues and grinning from ear to ear.

Kev went on to join the Men In Frocks in 2000 and together with myself,
Andy and Tom performed in sweaty venues wearing a variety of. . . unusual
outfits including: granny dresses, nurses uniforms and on one occasion. . .
surgeon gowns at the infamous Perverts In Leather bike rally. The band played in
front of 2000 bikers in Kent that year at a rally that went on to be the pinnacle of the band’s
career.
Kev’s bald head, dark glasses and aggressive style made him an instant hit with the bands audience
and especially the ladies.

In April 2000 Kev and the band completed a sponsored parachute jump from
4000 feet in aid of The Premature Baby Unit of The Leicester Royal Infirmary.
The charity jump which of course Kev performed perfectly was not only his first jump but also his
first flight in an aircraft.
I will never forget the look on Kev’s face, the blood red resolve in his eyes and the big brown
stain in my trousers as we waited to throw ourselves out of a perfectly good aircraft that day.

Kev never travelled abroad but always had the ambition. When we visited
the Isle Of Wight in March he asked me in all seriousness if he needed a passport.
We drove South that weekend to scatter my parents ashes in the bay of Sandown
and got all the way to Sandown pier and right up to the gates before realising that it was closed
for the Winter months.
So with my parents ashes still in the car, that afternoon we played golf together in the pouring
rain.
At the 8th tee having already lost our score cards to the wind, Kev teed off and lost his driver in
the process.
His club flew through the air and into the thorn bushes on the left and with a shrug he lit a
cigarette and waded in after it while I laughed so hard I couldn’t help him.

Kev and I both lost our fathers in recent years, something which in a way seemed to bring us closer
together.
We talked for hours of the many things we wish we had said and what they meant to us.
Kev was at my dads funeral, at his wake making tea for my relatives and he took flowers to my mother
when she was ill in hospital.
He was always there when his friends and family needed him.
He was a rock of support giving selflessly of his time although he never really recovered from the
loss of his father Pete or his friend Andy.
Hopefully he is now at peace and reunited with them both.
I believe Kev would still be here today had he sought help for his depression but we lost him to the
darkness of the void he found himself in.

He was a gentleman, a kindred spirit and a brother to me in everything
but name. . . but when everything went dreadfully wrong at work, when the
fuses blew, when he missed his putt for birdie or when the world seemed
against him. . . . Kev always used to say:

“Brad, they shouldn’t send us duck . . . they know what we’re like”