The former manager and director of Loder and Payne has died.

Winston Quested was born in London Road, Maidstone, in 1941, one of 11 children.

After attending Westborough School, he took his first job with Meakers, a tailor's shop in Week Street, Maidstone. He transferred to Loder and Payne, which was then the town's prominent furnishers and drapers shop in Middle Row, at the age of 20, where he rose through the ranks.

He was very interested in promoting Maidstone as a business centre and was involved in the formation of Town Centre Management, the forerunner of One Maidstone, where he worked closely with the then town centre manager Bill Moss and with Paul Alcock, then the manager of the Mall Chequers shopping centre.

He shared with Mr Alcock a passion for football. Mr Quested played himself until the age of 41, but he also ran a team called TechCol, comprised of students from the Maidstone Technology College and he was involved in the administration of Maidstone's Sunday Football League.

He actually loved all sports and also played squash, cricket and five-a-side football.

His other passion was gardening and he was very proud of his flowers beds at his home in Adisham Drive, Allington.

He retired in 1996, aged 55, when Loder and Payne was sold. The property is now home to The Gallery nightclub.

"He was a very generous man, kind and thoughtful and always willing to help anyone..." Jill Quested

He met his wife Jill at Loder and Payne where she worked in the office and they married in 1965 and had two children, Lisa now 45 and Mark now 42.

His wife said: "Winston was very family orientated and did his best to stay in contact with all his relatives. He was a very generous man, kind and thoughtful and always willing to help anyone.

"Of course I thought highly of him, but since his death I have been inundated with sympathy cards with many people saying the most wonderful things about him. It's been very uplifting to learn in what high esteem others regarded him."

Mr Quested had appeared to be in good health right up until a few days before his death.

One morning he woke to painful stomach cramps and was taken to the Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury where it was determined he was suffering from acute pancreatitis. He was kept in intensive care, but died just 10 days later on April 14. He was 77.

Mrs Quested said: "It was very sudden and a shock to us all."

His funeral will be at Vinters Crematorium in Maidstone on Friday, May 10, at 2pm.

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