Medway's king of the pub quizzes Ken Owen has died.

Ken, who has appeared on Mastermind and missed out on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, passed away at the age of 63.

Best-selling UK author Peter James was so impressed with his specialist knowledge of his Roy Grace detective novels in the black chair that he employed him as a researcher.

He famously got to £125,000 in Chris Tarrant's show but chose to gamble and walked away with just £32,000 after incorrectly answering that Kermit was the middle name of American First Lady Nancy Reagan. The answer was Edith Roosevelt.

His brother Stewart Owen said: "I was to be his next 'phone a friend', but he ran out of options - and I knew the correct answer."

His love of general knowledge led to friendships with well-known and respected game show celebrities such as some of TV's Eggheads.

He was a familiar quiz master face in bars across the Towns and was a regular winner of the KM quiz with his team Supernova.

Ken who lived in Rochester , was a deeply religious man, joining the Pentecostal Church in Gravesend where he was a lay preacher.He was an active member of the congregation at a church in The Vines in Crow Land, Rochester..

Born to a working class family in Gravesend, he passed his 11plus and got to the town's grammar school where he was recognised as a bright pupil.

But instead if going on to higher education, Ken opted for a career in retail starting with a Saturday job, before joining Marks&Spencer's trainee management programme and then landing a management post at Allders in Chatham.

It was there he met his second wife Carole, the mother of their daughter Vienna. Ken became step father two her two daughters, Nova and Ashley-Claire from a previous relationship,

Ken encountered several challenges in his life through business and ill health which forced him to retire early.

In his latter years he was an exam invigilator.

Stewart said: "Perhaps in quizzing and the ability to exercise his intelligence, personally and for entertainment of others, he found his true vocation.It is heartening that he found a source of pleasure among the difficulties arising from his life journey.

His funeral was held at Thamesview Crematorium, Gravesend at 10am on Monday.