The funeral of a former garage boss and Methodist Church member takes place this Saturday.

And people are being asked to donated to The Brain Tumour Charity in his memory.

The funeral service for Keith Tutthill is at The Beacon Church in Bartholomew Street, Dover, from 10am followed by cermation at Barham at 11.20am.

Mr Tutthill, 71, died at his home in Danes Court, Dover, on January 4, after being diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour.

Born in February 1945 in Royal Tunbridge Wells – where mothers-to-be from Dover were evacuated during the war to have their babies – Keith was the eldest son of the late Evelyn and Leslie Tutthill.

He was the brother of former Mercury chief reporter Graham Tutthill.

Keith attended Shatterlocks Infants, Barton Junior and the Dover Boys’ Grammar School.

He then worked for the AA based at Dover docks for five years before going into a partnership to form Cherry Tree Garage in Cherry Tree Avenue in 1968.

Keith ran the garage for 48 years, selling the business in March 2016 after he became ill.

He was organist at the Beacon Church – formerly London Road Methodist Church – for 55 years, a member of the church and men’s choirs, and treasurer for 40 years.

He ran the church youth club for several years, and in 1961 formed a girls’ choir that performed at many services and concerts and sang in Austria in 1970.

He organised choir reunions in 2000 and 2010, and met up with several of the former choir members at an informal get-together in November.

For 20 years, Keith was superintendent of the Dover division of St John Ambulance, and he was made a Serving Brother of the Order of St John of Jerusalem by the Queen in May 1987.

He served as chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association at the Dover Girls’ Grammar School while his daughter Veronica was a pupil there, and he was on the committee of the Dover branch of Victim Support and the Squires School of Dancing for many years.

Following the sudden death of his first wife, Heather, in 1993, Keith married Margaret King in 1997.

They were both much involved with Temple Ewell Players, where Keith was musical director for 22 years, playing for many of their shows and pantomimes.

Despite his illness, and being confined to a wheelchair and mobility scooter in the past 12 months, Keith made the most of the opportunities to get out and about and meet as many friends as possible.

His family formed Team Tutthill to support Keith in his fight against cancer, and they were joined and supported by many friends.

His daughter, Veronica, continues to undertake a series of monthly challenges to raise funds for the Brain Tumour Charity via her Just Giving page at http://bit.ly/2jkGYCm

Keith’s last outing was to Dover’s Market Square at the beginning of December for the Christmas lights switch-on, where a choir, formed by Veronica following her appointment as assistant head at St Martin’s School in Dover, performed in public for the first time.

Donations are being made to The Brain Tumour Charity or The Beacon Church Minibus Fund via undertakers WJ Farrier at 161 London Road, Dover CT17 0TG.