IN MEMORIAM
1929-2020
Coomarasamy N Pillay [MBBCh 1954]
Dr Coomarasamy Nithianathan “CN” Pillay died at the age of 90 on Christmas Day 2020. He worked for decades at the RK Khan Hospital and was key in the formation of the Chatsworth Regional Hospice. Dr Pillay was born on 10 July 1929 in Greenwood Park, the child of Kistan and Amurtham Pillay. His father worked in a managerial position at the Coronation Brick and Tile Company in Briardene. His paternal grandfather, Kumarasamy Kistan (KK) Pillay, came from a wealthy family of tobacco farmers in India. He wrote exams to enter high school at a government school in Umgeni Road and was accepted to Sastri College. In Standard 7, he received a book prize The Healing Knife by George Sava, which was his first introduction to surgery and this moulded his life. Under a special permit, he was able to study medicine at Wits. He applied for an internship at McCord Zulu Mission Hospital. In 1954, Chief Albert Luthuli was critically ill and was brought to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. Dr Pillay was tasked with spending the night at Chief Luthuli’s bedside, recording his blood pressure every 10 minutes and regulating the intravenous infusion accordingly. Dr Pilllay went into private practice in Avoca,
1925-2020
Noel Cuthbert Pope [BSc Eng 1949, PhD 1960]
Dr Noel Cuthbert Pope was born in Queenstown, attended Queens College and matriculated in 1942. He completed a year of mechanical engineering at Wits before joining the South African Air Force, where he earned his wings on his 19th birthday. After World War II ended he returned to Wits to complete his degree. During this period Dr Pope rowed for Wits as stroke (usually the most competitive rower in the crew) at the Henley Royal Regatta in 1948. His airforce exposure led him to pursue an interest in aerodynamics and he started an MSc on supersonic wind tunnel design, which was later upgraded to a PhD. This led to a post at Farnborough, UK where the “faster-thansound” aircraft had arrived and supersonic bangs were then a great novelty. After a year there, the call home and the persuasion of the company Boart Products who employed him for a year before leaving for the UK, brought
Newlands and Harding. He furthered his studies at the Royal College of Surgeons in London and the Edinburgh Royal College of Surgeons. He had 30 years of unbroken service at RK Khan Hospital where he retired as principal surgeon in 1992. He became president of the Natal Coastal Branch of the Medical Association of South Africa, was chairperson of the board of Emergency Medical and Rescue Service of KwaZulu-Natal and served as trustee on various community organisations. He received a Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Surgeons of South Africa in 2007; as well as a dedicated service in medicine award from the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa and the Mahatma Gandhi award for humanitarian service to the community. He was described as “the quintessential role-model — high on morals, a stickler for detail, and a technically gifted surgeon. A man who paid close attention to detail, meticulous planning, passion for patients’ rights and commitment to service. The standard set by the surgical departments at RK Khan Hospital was to become the benchmark for other surgical departments and units to emulate.” He married Dayanithy (Babse) Pillay in 1956 and she died in 2016. He is survived by his three daughters Jayashree, Thikambari and Udeshni and two grandchildren. Sources: Sunday Tribune and The Witness
him back to Africa to pursue his other compelling interest, metallurgy. He spent the next 36 years with Boart International. On his retirement in 1985, he and his wife, alumna Vivia (BMus 1950, BEd 1970, Med 1979) née Jones, moved into the Magaliesberg and lived on a small holding where they grew oranges, avocados, kiwis and pecan nuts for the co-op and all who visited. They joined the Mountain Club and walked through all the kloofs and valleys in the region. They also hiked nearly all the trails available in South Africa and went on “safari” in their Landrover with the “tenton top” to Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. Dr Pope started the Buffelspoort Valley Conservancy. Dr Pope and his wife were very proud Witsies. It is where they met and they said Wits helped shape their minds and attitude to life. Dr Pope is survived by his wife, Vivia, son Trevor (BSc Eng 1980, MSc Eng 1983) and daughter Jane. Trevor’s children Alexander (BSc Eng 2009) and Sarah (BSc 2015) are also proud Wits graduates. Source: Vivia Pope
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