It is with enormous sadness that LicensingSource.net shares the devastating news that industry legend Kelvyn Gardner has died unexpectedly of a heart attack.
Hugely respected and much loved by all, Kelvyn, the founder of Asgard Media, long-time managing director of Licensing International UK and active Light Fund committee member, passed away this morning (January 26).
His wife Michelle, daughter Regan and son Eliot requested that we share this sad news with Kelvyn’s many industry friends.
Michelle has also posted a message on LinkedIn to explain what happened: ‘It was almost instant, he had tingling pains in his arms and felt a slight pain in his chest, (we rang 111 but to be honest I wouldn’t bother it was pointless). I was getting dressed to take him to emergency as I wasn’t happy with what was going on, when he fell back and started not breathing properly, I called 999 and was on the phone whilst doing heart massage (cpr). The ambulances took only 10 minutes to arrive, where they worked on Kelvyn for about an hour. Although they were extremely kind saying they were taking him in to MK Hospital where the resuscitation team were waiting myself, Regan & Eliot (his children) knew that he had passed away. As I am typing this I just cannot tell you how we feel we are at a loss… It was Kelvyn’s 66th birthday on the 22nd of January 2021 and was going to be our big wedding anniversary 40 years…we had joked that he wouldn’t know one end of a ruby if it bit him, so I think I might have got some ruby coloured Warrington gear! Please feel free to get in touch, as Covid is so crap you know that funerals are 30 people, so in time we think a memorial service in its stead (Covid notwithstanding) – Michelle Gardner’
Michelle, Regan and Eliot asked that we shared a message that Kelvyn posted on his recent birthday, which sums up the great man, who so many saw as ‘Mr Licensing’: ‘Today is my 66th birthday, and a big thank you to everyone who has been so kind as to send me greetings. Celebrations will be muted, of course, but maybe all the better to allow a bit of quiet reflection. How fortunate am I, and everyone else reaching my age around now, that healthcare, nutrition and the working environment since the 1950s has allowed us a full and active life in our seventh decade. Hard though it is to recall clearly, my memory of my grandparents is that they were ‘old’ in their 40s. Their lives, manual factory work for the men, long hours of physical home labour for the women, modest incomes, few opportunities for social mobility, were almost programmed to drain life from them. Like many of my generation, I was the first in my family to go to University, the first to start a business of my own, things that brought me entry into the comfortable ‘middle classes’. But, even today this is not life for everyone in the UK. I remind myself, I give thanks, and I try to do my bit to help others take a step along the road I’ve trod.’
Kelvyn’s family requests that no flowers are sent, but anyone who would like to get in touch can do so by writing to Pendragon House, Wicken Rd, Deanshanger, Milton Keynes MK19 6JR.
Michelle, Regan and Eliot are to advise on which charity they would like people to donate to in Kelvyn’s honour, should they so wish.
