Our September Time To Retune retreat, at Cadhay Manor, was dedicated to Tom Kempton. Since his death in November 2023, his family and friends have raised more than £7K in his memory and donated every penny to Cancer Lifeline South West. For a small charity like this, that is a massive boost and allowed us to schedule an additional retreat this year.
Tom Kempton was born in Shrewsbury, spent his childhood in Hereford before moving to Devon aged 16, where he enrolled at Exeter College. After studying film at the University of East Anglia, he returned to Devon and discovered a love of carpentry. Woodwork would go on to be a constant in Tom’s life, in various forms, from creating wonderful timber frame buildings to carving beautiful spoons and bowls.
Tom met his wife Kate at a yoga class in Totnes. They married and made a home together in the village of Harberton with their two children, Miriam and Zac. Tom spent many years riding his bike from Harberton to his work at Carpenter Oak in Cornworthy.
Tom was just forty when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer. He was described by friends as: a mate, a father, a brother, a son and husband, who died well before his time.
Tom and Kate were participants in one of the Time To Retune retreats run by CLSW at Cadhay Manor. Both found it a hugely beneficial experience.
Tom told us afterwards: “For me, simply being with other people who are going through the same journey gave me the opportunity to relate and identify to our collective, shared experiences. I was able to gain a sense of perspective on all the difficulties that I have been through and find strength in myself and belief in my own state of mind. I found myself leaving Cadhay feeling strong in my mental approach to my illness and empowered to know that I was actively dealing with the complexities of my condition well and in a graceful manor.”
Kate Kempton said: “Some things that I valued as part of this were: the sense of a safe space and mutual respect for each other’s feelings and experiences; the sense of time, both during and between sessions; the sense of being looked after and given time as a couple in a completely uncomplicated way”
Tom’s death had a huge impact on his friends and family and there was an immediate resolve to raise money in his name, for the benefit of CLSW. Miriam’s violin group busked in Tones, leading up to Christmas. One friend completed the gruelling Spine ultra race, running 268 miles non-stop along the Pennine Way. Two friends, one using Tom’s own bike, cycled from Hereford to Harberton. There was a major donation from the Football Association. And myriad donations came in recognition of all these activities.
None of the Trustees of CLSW ever met Tom Kempton. But from the effect his untimely death had on everyone who knew him, we can see that he was a remarkable person and greatly missed.
