Mary Kabra (née Beach) OH 1989-1986
Friday 12 December 2025
Mary Kabra (née Beach) 1978-2025 Cherished daughter of Helen and Brian, sister to Hilary and Tom, wife of Rahul, mum to Nina and Arun, and aunt to Peter, Ben, Sophie, Dan, Matthew, and Esther. Mary was born and raised in Herefordshire, and maintained a lifelong love of, and connection to, the county, through frequent visits and holidays. Mary loved long walks along the Wye – and she was returned to the river when her ashes were scattered there in the summer.At the Cathedral School, as in every stage of her life, Mary was well loved, and after her memorial in January, six of her closest school friends wiled away an evening together, reminiscing about happy school days, and everything that has followed in the decades since.At school Mary was what you’d call an all-rounder. Strong academically, she was also a School Monitor, active in CCF, DofE, the school plays and ‘words and music’ evenings. She played squash and rowed – something she continued at Newcastle University, where she was in the Women’s 1st Eight team. Graduating with First Class Honours in Agri-Business Management, she ended up in ad-land, working in-house and later in big agencies, and rising to the rank of Account Director. But at the age of 39 she decided to retrain as a paediatric nurse, following her parents and sister into medicine, and going on to work at the prestigious Evelina Children’s Hospital at Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, where she cared for premature babies and their families. Mary was always one of life’s helpers and was committed to paying good deeds forward. Right to the end, she kept a list in her diary of friends who needed a bit of extra love and support each year. At her memorial she was remembered as being like human sunshine, and sunshine in a bottle. Her beaming smile and natural warmth made her easy to connect to, and because of this she made friends wherever she went. Mary was working as a school nurse in Epsom when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Bowel Cancer in March 2025. The disease was merciless and took her far too soon. She died peacefully on 12th December 2025 at the Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, Surrey. Mary will rightly be remembered for her many achievements and the contributions she made. Most of all though, the world has lost the most bright, kind, and loving mother, daughter, sister, aunt, wife, and friend anyone could wish for.