Keith Ingram, one who touched many lives
It’s with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Keith Ingram on January 16, an avid Old Boy and much loved member of varied communities in SA, the Class of ‘61 and Solomon House. A victim of the Covid19 pandemic, he suffered gravely, but fought valiantly to the end.
He is survived by his loving wife Madele, sons Murray and Robert, daughter-in law Karen, and five grandchildren. Murray’s family relocated to Wellington, NZ, and Robbie’s family followed suit, but to Perth.
Keith was an excellent father and grandfather and did the best he could to teach and guide his offspring. He was saddened by not being close to them geographically in his later years, but the family enjoyed several mutual holidays together in SA and Australasia.
Said Madele: “Keith was very much a people’s person. He was a good friend to all, a man who would give his shirt for a friend. His memory of events long past was legendary and he enjoyed nothing more than chatting with friends from those days. His love of life, integrity, generosity, loyalty, and kindness to so many will be his substantive legacy”.
Keith grew up with his parents, Scotch and Zalea, and elder brother Ian, in Menlo Park, Pretoria. The brothers attended Brooklyn School and then Boys High. Keith became an avid Old Boy, attending reunions across the country, especially Cape Town and Pretoria. He greatly enjoyed reminiscing with his mates until the early hours of the morning. Ian, incidentally, also passed away fairly recently.
Both boys were avid members of the 2nd Brooklyn 56 Scout Group: Ian a leader of the Kestrels Patrol and Keith leader of the Kingfishers; and they thoroughly enjoyed hiking and camping around Pretoria’s former eastern outreaches, the former northern Transvaal and elsewhere. They maintained emphatically that Scouting afforded an all-round education for younger people, providing a sense of purpose, duty, patriotism and ability to work together. No mean Scouter himself, Keith was particularly proud of Ian’s achievement of being a ‘Queen Scout’.
The Harlequins Club was always central to the Ingram family’s social life. Scotch coached at U-19 rugby level; was a close friend and colleague of the legendary Kitch Christie; Keith played rugby for Quins post school; and often uttered that ‘the Carlton Cup was not for sissies’.
Not insignificantly, Keith remained a loyal Bull supporter throughout his life. “He was an avid sports follower (the Bulls naturally!) and read most newspapers from cover to cover”, Madele recounted.
As Henk Kaal illuminates below, The Pretoria Highlanders played a major role in Keith’s life and he served the regiment with pride and distinction. Both his grooming as a Scout and the School’s ethic contributed to his qualities of an outstanding soldier: decency, courage, easy to work with, self-control, selfless service, honour and personal integrity among others.
His last two years as a boarder in Solomon House arguably also counted for a lot, becoming attuned to house discipline, working seamlessly with the pack, and being self-reliant and obliged to take decisions independently.
Both Ian and Keith devoted their working lives to Old Mutual; in Keith’s case commencing at ground floor and rising to Regional GM. This resulted in a fair amount of moving around the country. Locations included Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, back to Johannesburg, and finally returning to Pretoria where he retired.
“A few years after retiring, Keith and I moved to Cape Town”, Madele recounted. ‘We led a very happy life there, where Keith enjoyed his bowls, short getaways and a number of overseas holidays. His interest in sport, of course, was also key. He was a part-owner in a game farm near Hoedspruit for a while, and relished the opportunity to escape to the bush. His holidays in the Kruger National Park were very much a highlight”.
Reminiscences below from several of Keith’s close friends and colleagues:
The schoolboy, by Donald Jones in consultation with Gerald Bloemink and Errol McCloskey:
Gerald and Keith first met when just four years of age. A fight apparently ensued between them and Keith won. The incident, however, converted into an amazing affiliation that soon became evident to all at Brooklyn Primary School.
A decade later at Boys High Gerald and Keith ‘borrowed’ a visiting friend’s motorcar, went for a ‘spin’ until spotted by one of the Mums’, and the game was up. All hell broke loose! The incident, however, reinforced their comaradie and they were to remain close friends for the ensuing 70 odd years!!!
They engaged in business ventures together where a hand shake sealed the deal – remarkable really! Their respective families too remained close and shared many laughs and good times together. Gerald, in fact, at all times spoke warmly of Keith as a man of integrity and honour, always generous and kind, and constantly a help to others in need.
A Solomonite, Keith was a House and School Prefect and a fine front-rower in the classy 1961 rugby XV led by Royd Frith. As a House Prefect, he apparently “flapped” only one learner, the renowned Trevor Quirk, who arguably deserved what came his way. (Who didn’t?) Keith also captained the Solomon House Senior rugby side and was Head of the Efficiency Squad.
Over the 65 years that I came to know Keith, he never changed. He always remained an impeccably loyal patriot and an upright friend; he exuded immaculate manners and a great sense of humour; and as a devoutly loyal Old Boy, he was persistently proud of his affiliations and School roots. I’ll miss him particularly in April, my birthday month, when every year, without fail, he called me. I’ll also miss his gravelly voice and yearn his sense of fun, duty and candour. His friendship will remain special and I’m proud to have been involved in his life.
Accomplishments in the Pretoria Highlanders Regiment, by Henk Kaal:
In 1963 Keith underwent his compulsory military training in the Armoured Corps of the SADF, and, at an early stage, showed sound leadership skills and earned the trust of the men who served him.
The following year, having completed his basics, Keith was transferred to the Highlanders Regiment which had been established in 1939 under the Formation Council of the Pretoria Caledonian Society and was vigorously seeking volunteers. He attended the required training camps and courses, and rapidly moved through the Regiment’s officer ranks.
On October 27 1971 he was appointed as the first Citizen Force Officer in the SADF to command a Citizen Force Unit, in that case the Pretoria Highlanders. Prior to that all Citizen Force command posts were held by Permanent Force personnel.
He served in that capacity until 1977 which included deployment of the Regiment along SA’s borders as well as in the former SWA/Namibia.
A traditional military man, Keith believed in hard work and steadfastly remained loyal to the traditions of the Regiment. Relatively young and a man of his times, he showed good judgement, was meticulous in execution, and maintained a high standard of discipline.
On occasion he was deemed intimidating by his junior officers, but for the most part was a considered a great motivator. He led the Regiment by force of personality, and earned the respect of all those who served him. Veneration was also shared by many of his Permanent Force peers.
Aka ‘The Colonel’, by Old Mutual colleagues Richard Mac Cullum and Eugene Renou:
It goes without saying that Keith was a caring, compassionate and a larger than life person who had strong values and showed immense loyalty to his friends and colleagues.
Early years: Keith joined Old Mutual as a Representative in Pretoria around 1970 and worked his way up to a District Manager before becoming one of the original Broker Consultants in Johannesburg in 1976.
In 1978 he was promoted to Broker Sales Manager in PE and two years later transferred to Durban as Broker Manager.
He was promoted to Agency Regional GM for KZN in July 1983 and remained in this position until June 1989. He qualified several times for the prestigious Agency Offshore Convention.
A fun-loving person and during those years, Keith always maintained that fun was a most important and balancing ingredient in any working environment. He endeared himself to all those in his Region – everyone loved and respected him.
With the assistance of his PA, they introduced ‘the whistle’ on Mondays when branches exceeded their weekly sales targets. Keith thoroughly enjoyed this and was often to be found counting the number of whistles as he sipped his morning tea.
Later years: In 1989 Keith was transferred to the Johannesburg Broker Area, being KZN’s loss and JHB’s gain, He took with him loads of refreshing energy, structure, discipline, respect, thirst and lots of fun.
Well ahead of his time as a ‘natural servant leader’ and with the vision and ability to know what was required to “clean-up” a business that was struggling, he gave the Management Team the direction it needed.
The JHB Region turned the corner within a year and the results showed in Client & Broker relationships, service, sales and Staff development. The JHB Broker environment back in the 80s & 90s was an unforgiving one, but Keith had perseverance and was a positive influence.
There were the odd persons who needed to be told off in a polite manner, but Keith ensured this was done in his very cordial military manner and growly voice.
Though a task master, Keith was very protective and fair. He had a heart of gold and always backed his Staff regardless. If in the wrong, you’d be reprimanded, but he ensured that minimal time was spent dwelling on the negatives. Normally, the encounter was concluded with a beer.
Keith further ensured that his Staff were presentable which included a shoe inspection when visiting Branches. There was always a shoeshine kit on hand and well-polished shoes were the order of the day before Managers and Consultants left the office to call on Brokers.
Never shy to lead by example, he would often join in and shine his own shoes together with Staff whilst having a personal chat which would most likely ended with the comments, “that’s as smooth as a rat with a gold tooth”!
The tough environment also demanded an opportunity to release stress and have fun. Keith insisted that all branches in his Region had to have a Pub. Every Friday afternoon/evening, without fail, copious amounts of beverages were consumed which inevitably would result in a traditional scrum. It was a masterstroke which the JHB Region desperately needed.
Keith thoroughly enjoyed giving recognition and introduced several annual events for Brokers and Staff. In 1995 on the back of the Rugby World Cup, it was also the Old Mutual’s 150th anniversary, which was celebrated by an unforgettable JHB Park Station to Magaliesburg train trip. A legendary experience and still fondly reminisced about.
Keith also introduced the concept of Managers entertaining Brokers and Staff at their homes in order to make the entertainment budget stretch as far as possible. Although the emphasis was to save, the budget was always fully used by the end of each Financial Year.
Madele: It was during this period that Keith met Madele. They were a wonderful couple and always attracted positive energy and set the standard of what a Regional General Manager and Spouse were personally required to do and sacrifice on behalf of OM.
The respect which Keith gained from his peers in the Financial Services Industry and Competitor Company’s, was renowned. He was extremely competitive in gaining the lion’s share of any Brokers business but would not unnecessarily knock the competitors. It was basically a war that was won without a shot being fired!
Tansfer to Pretoria: When Keith opted for a transfer in July 1996 to the Pretoria Region, it was a massive loss for the JHB Region. Although he was back in his hometown, the changed environment and missed camaraderie was one that he regretted.
Keith qualified for many Broker Offshore Conventions. On these trips he would always ensure that Madele and he were present hosts and the enjoyment was taken to the next level.
It was always inspirational to see Ian and Keith together and witness the brotherly love which they had for each other.
Retirement:
When Keith elected to take early retirement, it was,” the changing of the guard”, as he was one of the original “Gladiators” who transformed the way in which Old Mutual conducted business with Brokers, Intermediaries, Clients and Staff.
Keith had a natural ability to forge lifelong friendships, which lasted long after his retirement. He continues to live on in the many lives that he touched. He was loved by all.
Leon Kok