Ken Rowe, respected East Devon journalist and publisher, dies at 92
Report by Duncan Williams for Pulman's Weekly News
Ken Rowe, a respected figure in both national and regional journalism whose work left a lasting legacy across East Devon and beyond, has died at the age of 92.
Ken’s career began at the Western Morning News, but it was his national reporting stints with major titles such as the Liverpool Echo, the Scottish Daily Mail, the Daily Herald, and The Sun that first established his reputation as a sharp and versatile journalist. Though he was once offered the prestigious editorship of Scotland’s Daily Record, he chose a different path - one that would bring him back to the West Country and have a deep impact on community journalism.
In partnership with fellow journalist Frank Sharples, Ken launched the Honiton News, laying the foundation for a network of sister publications in towns such as Ottery St Mary, Seaton, Exeter, Bideford, Barnstaple, Taunton, and even as far as Gosport. The papers were produced in part through a partnership with Jim Hall, founder of the Midweek Herald, in a local printing firm that became instrumental to East Devon’s media landscape - an area long dominated by Pulman’s Weekly News since 1857.
Eventually, the Midweek Herald and Ken’s own Devon Newspaper Group were acquired by larger media companies, including the American-owned Newsquest. But Ken’s passion for publishing didn’t wane. Following the sale, he took the helm at Bridge Magazine, the official publication of the English Bridge Union, combining his journalistic skill with a lifelong love of the game.
Bridge was more than a hobby for Ken - it was a passion he pursued competitively through the Honiton and Exeter Bridge Clubs, winning tournaments even in the final months of his life.
Later in his career, Ken served his local community in a different capacity as a Registrar based in Honiton’s Dowell Street office, where he oversaw life’s most significant milestones - births, marriages, and deaths - with quiet dedication.
Outside of the newsroom and registry, Ken was an avid gardener. Over four decades, he transformed a stretch of Devon countryside into a personal Eden, filled with diverse plant life that he knew intimately by their Latin names.
Ken’s personal life was as rich as his professional one. He married his first wife, Peggy, in Liverpool in 1959, and together they had two children, Michael and Sarah. The family moved to Devon in 1970, settling first in Northleigh and later in Cotleigh. After Peggy’s passing in 1983, Ken remarried in 1984 to Anna, with whom he made a home in Honiton and then in Awliscombe, where the couple lived until his death.
Ken Rowe is survived by his wife Anna, and children Michael and Sarah. His funeral will be held at East Devon Crematorium, Whimple, on May 6th at 11.30am.
His passing marks the end of an era for local print news journalism, but his contributions to Devon’s media, his community, and the game of bridge will not be forgotten.
( Photo of Ken Rowe taken by his son Michael 📸 )