Andrew Pennells died on October 26, 1999, at the age of 37. He was Managing Director of J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd, England. Born on January 6, 1962 to parents John and Margaret Pennells, he won a scholarship in 1973 to Culford School. During vacations he helped at the Walker factory, showing a great interest in the technical aspects of the operation. In 1978 at age 16 he began a four-year apprenticeship with Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, Germany, which included three months study each year at the School for Organbuilding in Ludwigsburg. In 1982 he returned to England to join Walker as a general organbuilder, quickly progressing to installations and then to the drawing office. He married Janice Rolfe in 1986, and their son Christopher Daniel was born in 1987, followed by daughter Katherine Elizabeth in 1989. Also that year Andrew Pennells completed the technical design of the new organ for Adelaide Town Hall, at that time the largest mechanical action organ to have been built in England for 100 years. In 1994 he was appointed Managing Director, succeeding his father, Robert, who remained with the firm as Chairman, having served as Managing Director for the previous 20 years. By 1999 Andrew has been involved with the design and building of 173 organs. Although his main responsibility was in design for new instruments, his interest and expertise extended to every branch of organbuilding. He was also responsible for many noteworthy restorations, one of which was awarded the Annual State Prize in Germany. Surrounded by his family, Andrew passed away quietly at St. Nicholas Hospice, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, after a battle with cancer. A memorial service celebrating his life and achievements was held in St. Martin-in-the-Fields London on January 22. Taking part were organists Nicolas Kynaston, Jane Parker- Smith, David Saint, David Sanger, Johannes Geffert, and Paul Stubbings; Robert King and The King's Consort; Crispian Steele Perkings, trumpet; and James Bowman, counter tenor.
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