Gabriel Kney, 94, died November 8, 2024, two weeks before his 95th birthday. Born November 21, 1929, he apprenticed as a pipe organ builder with Paul Sattel in his hometown of Speyer-am-Rhein, Germany, after which with little money and no English he immigrated to Canada in 1951. After briefly working as a voicer for Keates Organ Company in Lucan, Ontario, Kney struck out on his own, first in partnership with John Bright in 1955, and then in his own business, Gabriel Kney & Co., in 1967, principally building mechanical-action instruments. Spanning a 40-year career, the company built 130 organs for churches, universities, concert halls, and private homes across Canada and the United States, including the organs at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Ontario, and at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Kney was also a black-and-white photographer, particularly in portraiture and nature. His great love of music sustained him throughout his life, particularly in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach in all forms.
Gabriel Kney is survived by his three daughters, Katharine Timmins (Peter), Mary Chevreau (Neil Block), and Martha Collyer-Bowman (Kevin Bowman), six grandsons and one great-grandson. He was predeceased by his first wife of 52 years, Jane Kney, and his second wife of 15 years, Mary Lou Nowicki, who died September 11, 2024. A funeral service will take place January 18, 2:00 p.m., at the Anglican Church of St. John the Evangelist, 280 St. James Street, London, Ontario. Memorial gifts may be made to St. John’s Saturday Night and Tuesday lunch programs (stjohnslondon.ca).
For more information on Gabriel Kney, read the interview, “A Conversation with Gabriel Kney: The organbuilder turns 86,” by Andrew Keegan Mackriell, in the November 2015 issue, pages 20–23.
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