In Memoriam

We fondly remember those who have gone before us

1920s

ZENA STEIN

1922-2021

[MBBCh 1950, DSc honoris causa 1993]

Influential and beloved epidemiologist Emeritus Professor Zena Stein died on 7 November 2021 at her home in Coatesville in the United States at the age of 99.

Much of her work was conducted with her husband Professor Mervyn Susser (MBBCh 1950, DSc honoris causa 1993), who died in 2014. Their pioneering research drew attention to the relationships between health, disease and social injustice.

Professor Stein was born on 7 July 1922 in Durban, to a family of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. Her mother, Lily (Rolnick) Stein, was a homemaker. Her father, Philip Stein, was a mathematics professor at Natal Technical College, which became the Durban University of Technology. She attended the University of Cape Town for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, receiving two Gold Medals for her work before embarking on her medical degree at Wits.

She married Professor Susser in 1949 and it’s documented that the couple organised a protest over the treatment of black medical students, who were barred from observing autopsies of white cadavers at Wits. Immediately after their internships, they joined with another radical couple, Dr Michael Hathorn (BSc Eng 1943, MBBCh 1950) and Dr Margaret Cormack (BSc 1946, MBBCh 1949), to direct and staff the Alexandra Health Centre and University Clinic in Johannesburg. These medics were influenced by Witsie couple Dr Sidney Kark (MBBCh 1937, MMed 1954, DSc honoris causa 1982) and Dr Emily Kark née Jaspan (MBBCh 1938), who ran Pholela, the landmark health centre in the 1940s in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Dr Sidney Kark “was the one who explained to us how work as a doctor could in fact do something to society,” Professor Stein said in an interview in 2003 to the journal Epidemiology. “We had preventive medicine and curative medicine; he had a new word for us, ‘promotive’ medicine, which means you actually helped communities to make a difference to their health.”

Dr Sidney and Dr Emily Kark at Pholela.

Their “Pholela model” led them to carry out one of the first studies of community health, published in the Lancet in 1955 as “Medical Care in an African Township”. They worked as a team and conducted hundreds of studies, many of which shaped the field of epidemiology and community healthcare. During this period they developed ties with many leaders in the anti-apartheid movement such as Ahmed Kathrada (LLD honoris causa 2012), Walter Sisulu (LLD honoris causa 1999), Joe Slovo (BA 1948, LLB 1951) and Nelson Mandela (LLD honoris causa 1991). Professors Susser and Stein helped write guidelines for healthcare in South Africa’s Freedom Charter in 1955.

Professors Stein and Susser, along with their three children, emigrated to Britain in 1956 after the arrests of many colleagues. Initially they lived in boarding houses and worried about money. Professor Stein worked nights in a mental hospital and after a year, Professor Susser found work at the University of Manchester and Professor Stein followed, working as a researcher.

In 1965 the family moved to the United States, and they both found their academic home at Columbia University. Professor Stein began teaching first as an associate professor of epidemiology, then earning a full professorship and assuming administrative positions in what is now the Mailman School of Public Health in 1966. In 1968, she became director of the Epidemiology Research Unit in the New York State Psychiatric Institute, a position she held for 30 years. During this time their seminal work, the Dutch Famine study, was published. It examined a nine-month period of malnutrition during World War II. They argued that babies exposed to famine prenatally were more likely to have cognitive deficits and elevated congenital nervous system anomalies including neural tube defects. These results helped lead to clinical trials to investigate the role of folate in pregnancy, and eventually to a recommendation that all pregnant women consume folic acid daily. In 1977 Professor Stein was one of the founders of Columbia’s Gertrude Sergievsky Centre, which originally studied disorders of the nervous system.

In the 1980s, she turned her focus to HIV and co-founded the HIV Centre for Clinical and Behavioural Studies, which highlighted the needs of women living with AIDS. It is now one of the largest centres of its kind in the world, employing about 100 investigators and staff members in the study of HIV across different disciplines, including psychology, psychiatry, public health, anthropology, sociology and social work. She remained close to her South African roots, playing a mentoring role to her Columbia colleagues Professors Salim Abdool Karim and Quarraisha Abdool (BSc 1984) based at the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). They told of her fondness for South African treats such as rooibos tea, and Peppermint Crisp chocolates as well as the annual visits to the country post-democracy. “We will always remember Stein for her warmth as this gentle, caring, highly energetic, and friendly person who always had time for all with whom she met,”they said in a CAPRISA statement.

In 2017 Professor Stein received the South African Medical Research Council’s President’s Award. In her acceptance speech she urged the audience to “forcefully protect the integrity of the mind and nurture carefully the humanity of the heart.”

She is survived by her three children, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Sources: The Lancet, Epidemiology, CAPRISA, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, Wits archives

AURA HERZOG

1924-2022

[BSc 1945]

Aura Herzog née Ambache, the mother of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog and widow of Israel’s sixth president, Chaim Herzog, died on 10 January 2022 at the age of 97.

Herzog was born in Egypt after her parents were expelled from Jaffa by the Turks during World War I. She completed a degree in mathematics and physics at Wits before immigrating to Israel in 1946 and joining the Hagana, the defence organisation that was the precursor to the Israel Defense Forces.

She then joined a diplomatic course and met Chaim Herzog; the two married in 1947. During the War of Independence she served as a soldier in Military Intelligence and later in the Science Corps. She was seriously wounded in a bombing attack in 1948.

Herzog served in various public positions over the years. She helped found the International Bible Contest, which is still held annually, and she founded and led the Council for a Beautiful Israel, a non-profit environmental group that remains active.

After her husband’s death in 1997, Herzog led efforts to commemorate his life and work. The couple had four children. Their son Michael is Israel’s ambassador to the United States.

She was buried in Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl national cemetery.

Sources: Wits archive, Times of Israel

MAX PERCIVAL CLARKE

1926-2021

[BSc Eng 1948]

Electrical engineer and historian Max Percival Clarke passed away on 18 November 2021. Clarke was passionate about municipal electrical engineering and ran numerous successful projects.

He was born on 15 February 1926 in Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape, where he spent his formative years. After his graduation at Wits, Clarke completed his pupillage in the East London area. In January 1951, he was appointed as a graduate apprentice with British Thomson- Houston, Rugby in England.

While in the UK he met a young Australian nurse, Eileen, whom he later married and with whom he had three daughters. They returned to South Africa and Clarke was appointed as the town electrical engineer in Somerset East in 1954. Here he ran the electricity department, which included a coal-fired power station, for 16 years. In 1970 they moved to Newcastle in Natal, where Clarke took on the challenge of reconstructing the electrical infrastructure of the little town that was to become a boomtown due to the giant steelworks, lscor, opening a second plant there.

Clarke later moved to the Randburg Municipality, which was then a rural town with agricultural smallholdings. There were plans to establish the area as another economic hub along with modern housing and large commercial undertakings. He built an electricity department from the ground up, managing the design and construction of buildings and infrastructure, and appointing staff. He retired in 1990, but continued to work for the Association of Municipal Electricity.

Clarke was also an active member of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) and chaired its historical interest group. He led by example with passion, energy and knowledge. In 2013, he was awarded the Engineer of the Year in recognition of his contribution to establishing SAIEE's museum and library.

Source: wattnow magazine

MAX COLEMAN

1926-2022

[BSc Eng 1949]

Former human rights commissioner and anti-apartheid activist Dr Max Coleman passed away on 16 January 2022, at the age of 95.

A chemical engineering graduate from Wits, Dr Coleman was born in South Africa in 1926 to a Lithuanian-born father and Irish-Catholic mother. He completed his doctorate at Imperial College London but returned to his home country and married Audrey Goldman in 1953. The couple had four sons, Brian (BSc 1980), Keith (BA 1981, BA Hons 1983, MBA 1991), Neil (BA 1980) and Colin (BArch 1988).

The Colemans’ lives of activism started with a policeman’s knock on the door at 5am on 24 October 1981, as documented in The Knock on The Door: The Story of The Detainees’ Parents Support Committee (Picador Africa, 2018). They learned that their son, Keith, who was not at home at the time, was on a security branch list of activists. The following morning Dr Coleman accompanied Keith to John Vorster Square police station and thus began his recording of his son’s – and soon others’ – detention by the security police.

Dr Coleman stepped away from his role as businessman with a successful chemical and photographic company to become a founding member of the Detainees’ Parents Support Committee (DPSC), which provided food, clothing and legal assistance to detainees. The DPSC united people of all backgrounds and the first meetings were held at Wits. The organisation shared information about legal rights, generated publicity and helped families link up with the Black Sash, medical professionals, psychologists, business people, academics and human rights lawyers. By the time Keith was released from detention in April 1982, the DPSC had grown into a national movement. Dr Coleman was a meticulous record-keeper, and his records are vital evidence of this violent period of South Africa’s history. These are currently lodged with the Historical Papers Archive at Wits.

In 1985, Dr Coleman co-founded the poverty-fighting agency Kagiso Trust, with the likes of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (honoris causa LLD 1993), Eric Molobi (LLD honoris causa 2000) and Dr Beyers Naudé. At the turn of the decade he was also appointed as a commissioner of the broad-based Human Rights Committee that was set up following the banning of the DPSC, which continued to help to raise awareness about state violence in the build-up to the first democratic elections in 1994. Coleman would go on to serve as one of the first commissioners of the South African Human Rights Commission and as an MP in Nelson Mandela’s government of national unity.

Dr Coleman, along with his wife, received the Order of Luthuli in Silver conferred by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November 2021 for his contribution to the struggle for democracy, human rights, nation-building, justice and peace and conflict resolution.

At his memorial service speakers paid tribute to Dr Coleman as a man of few words, who had the ability to listen intently. His actions reflected kindness: he never turned anyone away or refused to give help. He paid attention to the details in all areas of his life. A nature lover, he made careful notes on shells, birds and music and marvelled at the mechanics of how things worked. Keith said: “We see in Max things that we all value, but seldom see in the world. Max was a humanist: solid, trustworthy, he was consistent and, in his deepest self, unchanging – regardless of his audience. We can draw a straight line connecting his values to his words and his actions.”

He is survived by Audrey, his four sons and eight grandchildren.

Sources: SA History Online, Wits archives, New Frame, Daily Maverick

1930s

DESMOND MPILO TUTU

1931-2021

[honoris causa LLD 1993]

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu died on 26 December 2022 in a Cape Town care home with his wife and three of his four children by his side, following a more than two-decade-long fight with cancer. He was 90 years old.

Born in Klerksdorp on 7 October 1931, Archbishop Tutu was raised by his teacher father, Zachariah, and domestic worker mother, Aletta. When he was 12, his middle-class family moved to Ventersdorp. At the age of 14 he contracted tuberculosis and over the course of 20 months in hospital he developed a lifelong friendship with Father Trevor Huddleston, who became his religious inspiration and mentor. After matriculating at Madibane High with flying colours he was offered a place to study medicine at Wits, but the family couldn’t afford it. He became a teacher instead after graduating from the University of South Africa. A year later, he married Nomalizo Leah Shenxane.

He resigned from his missionary school teaching post, opting instead for a career in the church. In 1960 he received his licentiate in theology and was ordained as a priest in 1961. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees through a scholarship at King’s College at the University of London. In 1967 he returned to South Africa and joined the staff of the Federal Theological Seminary in Alice and became Chaplain at the University of Fort Hare. He moved frequently: from the University of Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and another spell in England as associate director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches.

Upon his return to South Africa in 1975, Archbishop Tutu was appointed the Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral. He wrote to the South African prime minister John Vorster in May 1976: “The people can only take so much and no more.” Two weeks later, the Soweto protests erupted. He was persuaded to take up the post of general secretary of the South Council of Churches between 1978 and 1985 and through this role, Archbishop Tutu became a national and international figure.

In 1984, Archbishop Tutu was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize and in 1994 he headed South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a first-ofits-kind judicial committee that called on apartheid-era perpetrators to publicly apologise for their crimes to victims, who in turn shared their stories. He embraced both abusers and the abused.

Archbishop Tutu had a close link with Wits. He was a member of the Board of Control of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies since its inception in 1978 and played a leading role in the centre’s direction. He also participated in the general life of the University through advice and addressing innumerable meetings. In 1982 when Archbishop Tutu was prevented from visiting the United States to receive an honorary degree from Columbia University, Wits acted as host to the conferment of the degree by the President of Columbia University.

In 2011 he included Wits in his 80th birthday celebrations with a lecture series to celebrate youth, interfaith dialogue, and non-violent methods of protest, despite his close friend the Dalai Lama being denied a visa to attend the celebrations.

Short in stature, Archbishop Tutu, affectionately known as “Arch”, was a towering figure. He spoke on causes including corrupt governance, global warming and autocratic rulers. In 2016, he supported his daughter Mpho’s marriage to a woman, despite the South African Anglican Church’s teaching that marriage was a union between a man and a woman. “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven,” he said. He communicated freely with tears and shrieks of delight. His self-deprecating humour and authenticity endeared him to many.

Archbishop Tutu is survived by his wife, Leah, four children Trevor, Theresa, Naomi and Mpho, and his sister Gloria.

Sources: Sunday Times, Wits archives

DENIS KUNY

1932-2021

[BCom 1952, LLB 1954]

Unsung hero of the legal fraternity Advocate Denis Kuny died in Johannesburg at the age of 89 on 25 October 2021.

Kuny shied away from the spotlight, but was pivotal in defending many anti-apartheid activists alongside the likes of Advocate George Bizos (BA 1951, LLB 1954, LLD honoris causa 1999), Lord Joel Joffe (BCom 1952, LLB 1955, honoris causa 2001) and former Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson (BCom 1952, LLB 1955, honoris causa 1990).

He was born in Kroonstad on 8 March 1932, and moved to Johannesburg with his family at the age of four. He went to school in Springs, on the East Rand, and considered being a medical doctor like his father, Benjamin. But after matriculating in 1948, he enrolled for a BCom at Wits and as a result of an uninspiring job shadowing experience with his accountant uncle, he decided to pursue a career in law instead.

Advocate Kuny was largely apolitical, unlike his Wits classmates and peers. He knew Lord Joffe since childhood and recalled to the Wits LRC Oral History Project in 2008: “One day we were in a lecture and a question of general interest came up for discussion (I can’t recall what it was), and it became clear that I had no idea what was going on. And Joel turned to me and said: ‘Don’t you ever read newspapers?’ I suddenly became aware of the fact that I actually didn’t read much and was quite ignorant about what was happening in the ‘real world’.”

In 1957 he married Hillary Hamburger (BA 1959, MA 1984). They lived in London for a year and on their return he was admitted to the bar in February 1960. A month later came the Sharpeville massacre and his involvement in political cases began.

He started by defending a host of black South Africans involved in pass burning, demonstrations, breaching banning orders and membership of banned organisations.

Hamburger was the secretary of the Defence and Aid Fund, and she roped him into defending PAC youngsters who had nobody to defend them. Most of his cases were fought in small towns in front of aggressive judges and prosecutors. In time Kuny’s cases escalated to defending those accused of terrorism and high treason. He used his skill on cases that he believed mattered, shunning a lucrative commercial career.

In 1961 he helped Nelson Mandela pose as a chauffeur to evade the security police. Kuny dressed as a wealthy businessman and was driven by Mandela to Ladysmith using Chaskalson’s car.

Kuny was involved in many high-profile political trials during the struggle era, defending Bram Fischer and Steve Biko among others. He defended students in the Nusas trial in 1975, among them Eddie Webster, who said, “He managed to sanitise our radical ideas in a way that made them sound reasonable and perfectly sensible.” In 1982 he defended Barbara Hogan (BA 1977, BA Hons 1979) and represented the family of Neil Aggett in the inquest after his torture and death in police custody. In 1986 he took over the defence of the MK operative Andrew Zondo.

Advocate Kuny shunned the limelight. He was a talented jazz pianist. One anecdote goes that when he became senior counsel in 1983, he took his family to a steakhouse in Johannesburg to celebrate. There was a piano there which he started playing. He looked slightly down and out. As somebody left the steakhouse he put down a R5 note saying: “I think you need it.”

He is survived by three sons: Neil, Steven (BA Hons 1982, LLB 1985) and Jonathan, and his second wife Alison Scarr.

Source: Wits LRC Oral History Project, Sunday Independent and Sunday Times

DAVID BLUMSOHN

1932-2021

[MBBCh 1954, DMed 1959]

Professor David Blumsohn was known as the “heart, soul, and pulse” of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, where he worked for 50 years. He passed away at the age of 89 on 20 October 2021. He devoted his life to the practice of medicine almost exclusively in the public sector, serving the poorest of the poor in Soweto during and after apartheid.

His father, Aaron Blumsohn, emigrated to South Africa in 1924 from Lithuania at the age of 18 and married Leiba Tannenbaum. Aaron ran religious services in Belfast and Nigel and later became a shochet (qualified to slaughter meat according to Jewish law). They settled in Roodepoort and had three children, Maurice, Tzilla and David.

Blumsohn attended Krugersdorp High School and completed his medical degree at Wits. He gave unswerving and loyal service to the Department of Medicine at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital for more than five decades: initially as registrar, then as physician, senior physician, principal physician and head of one of the large medical units. After his retirement in 1997, he continued to work in the department as Honorary Professor, sharing his extensive knowledge, experience and wisdom with students, doctors and patients.

He possessed all the qualities of a great physician. He had an outstanding intellect, an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine, and an ability to inspire students. But above all, he was a humanitarian. He wrote a moving article for the medical students’ journal, The Leech, entitled “The Pathology of Poverty” which had a major influence on the thinking of many students. He was at the forefront of a campaign at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in 1987 in which doctors protested at the deplorable conditions patients had to endure.

Blumsohn published widely in the medical literature and was invited to leading medical institutions as visiting professor or researcher. Students regularly thanked him for showing them the importance of patient-centered medicine. He received the PV Tobias and Convocation Award for distinguished teaching in 1996. He was one of the students’ heroes and was guest speaker at the final year medical students’ ball for many years. Professor Blumsohn also held a doctorate in Semitic languages and was extremely widely read. In recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the University, its students and the community of Soweto, he was awarded a Gold Medal in 2008.

He married, June, one of Chris Hani Baragwanath’s first radiologists, who passed away when she was young. He lived in the couple’s home in Kew, Johannesburg, for about 40 years before moving to a care home.

At his funeral, Rabbi Dr Dean Gersun described Blumsohn as “the ultimate mensch”.

“You only had to meet him for five minutes to be spellbound by his genuine love, care, kindness, and compassion,” he said, adding that he had “genuine care for his patients, for how they were, and who they were”.

Associate Professor Elise Schapkaitz (MBBCh 2002, MMed 2009) said: “He wasn’t just my mentor on how to be a good doctor, but my role model on how to be a good person.”

Sources: South African Jewish Report and Wits University archive

STANLEY JACK RACHMAN

1934-2021

[BA 1954, BA Hons 1955, MA 1957]

Professor Emeritus in Psychology at the University of British CoIumbia Stanley “Jack” Rachman passed away on 2 September 2021 at the age of 87. He was internationally renowned for his work on behavioural (and later cognitive-behavioural) theories and interventions for anxiety-based disorders.

Professor Rachman was born in Johannesburg and completed his undergraduate degree at Wits. He completed his PhD at the Institute of Psychiatry at London University under the supervision of Professor Hans J Eysenck in 1961. He continued at the Institute and was involved in the pioneering studies of exposure and response prevention for obsessive compulsivedisorder.

In 1982 he moved to the University of British Columbia, where he was tasked with building the clinical programme. He retired in 1999 and was also Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, London University.

As a prolific researcher, Rachman’s areas of focus over the years were in the anxiety disorders, fear and courage, and broadly cognitive behaviour therapy. He was best known for his work in obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition to his many contributions in the science and practice of cognitive-behaviour therapy, he worked with and trained many of the world’s leading CBT researchers and practitioners. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and received a lifetime achievement award from the British Psychological Society.

Rachman enjoyed a broad range of interests including music, politics and world history. He was a well-known oenophile and enjoyed good practical jokes. His lectures were reportedly filled with humour and scholarship. He was married to Clare Philips for more than 50 years and a dedicated father to four children and seven grandchildren.

Source: University of British Columbia

BRUCE GARDINER

1932-2021

[BMus 1954]

Musician Bruce Gardiner died peacefully at home a month short of his 89th birthday on 9 November 2021.

His legacy is encapsulated in the piano classics and keyboard melodies he performed in many auditoriums, churches and school halls. Gardiner was brought up in an era when swing, big bands and jazz were popular and he was influenced by pianists such as Carmen Cavallaro and Dave Brubeck.

Gardiner was born in Queenstown, now Komani, to Dr Ivor and Bernadine Gardiner and was schooled at Queen’s College, to which he returned regularly throughout his life to give fundraising concerts. A severe illness at an early age prevented any meaningful participation in robust sport so his mother, a pianist,encouraged Gardiner to learn to play the piano. As a schoolboy he put his talent to good use by playing at assemblies and at raucous inter-schools rugby matches where he could be found at the keyboard of a honkytonk piano to the great delight of the crowd.

At Wits he obtained his music degree and proceeded to London where he spent a year acquiring his performer’s licentiate. Back in South Africa, he headed the music department at the East London Technical College.

He spent many happy years in East London with his wife Nell and his three growing children until Nell fell ill in the early 1970s and the family moved to Cape Town for specialised treatment.

Shortly before the Gardiner family left East London, his friend Donald Woods, editor of the Daily Dispatch at the time, unobtrusively solicited donations from the city’s business community to purchase a grand piano in recognition of his services to music and education. On the piano he had inscribed: “To Bruce from the citizens of East London.”

Nell succumbed to her illness and in 1976 Bruce took up the position as head of the music department of the University of the Western Cape, where he became a revered member of staff until he retired in 1992. His elegant style and delicate touch in shows enchanted listeners all over the country.

He is survived by his son, Ivor, daughters Debra and Julia, eight grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and many devoted fans.

Source: Charles Beningfield

DAVID BLOCK

1936-2021

[BProc 1957]

One of the pioneers of Australian merchant banking, David Block died aged 85 in Sydney on 14 August 2021 after a short illness.

The Wits-trained lawyer was a trusted adviser to business and government and described as a “goliath of business”. After emigrating from South Africa in 1964, Block worked at Darling & Co before setting up David Block and Associates in 1972 and becoming a director of Lloyds when it acquired the firm in 1981.

Block also served in prominent roles as a company director – he was on the board of Corporate Social Responsibility for a decade – government adviser and with the Sydney Opera House Trust, National Gallery, Darling Harbour Authority and Australian Film Commission.

In 1975, he was involved in the review of the taxation system in Australia and was the Robert Hawke government’s “efficiency expert”. In 1987, Hawke said: “I wanted to get the toughest, leanest, meanest, most efficient bloke in the private sector and bring him into the Australian public service to undertake a series of efficiency scrutiny surveys and already David has done a brilliant job.”

He played an ambassadorial role for South Africans in Sydney and was acknowledged for his “remarkable network” and “generosity with his time, his hospitality and his intelligence”.

He is survived by his wife Naomi, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Sources: Michael Pelly, Financial Review

ELLIOT WOLF

1936-2021

[BA 1957]

Respected educator and much-loved former headmaster of King David School, Elliot Wolf, died suddenly on 2 November 2021 at the age of 85. Wolf made an extraordinary contribution to Jewish education in South Africa for over 50 years.

He was born in Johannesburg as a twin with Jeffrey (BA 1957) and brought up in Yeoville. Although their parents were opposed to their teaching careers, both excelled in the field after completing bachelor’s degrees at Wits, majoring in English, Latin and Hebrew. Elliot taught at Parktown Boys’ High School for 10 years and joined King David High School (KDHS) Linksfield in 1968 as a head of department, teaching Latin and English. He became deputy head in 1969 and in 1974 headmaster – a position he held for 34 years. Jeffrey became the headmaster of King David in Victory Park. After retiring, Elliot led the King David Schools’ Foundation.

Past students paid homage to his ability to deal with children’s problems empathetically. He could remember everyone, down to the minute details of their school career and family lives. He was described as “the quintessential mensch who brought out the best in everyone and encouraged students to seize every opportunity.”

At his 80th birthday he said: “My belief is that nothing can replace a good teacher who interacts with his/her students and shares a learning experience with them. Good teaching is not only about imparting relevant subject matter, but also about providing a moral compass and the values and attitudes that will serve our students well in their future lives.”

Wolf enjoyed reading, travelling, gardening and tackling crossword puzzles. Although he never married or had children of his own, he said: “I’ve been blessed with thousands who, in return, provide me with so much pleasure and pride that I could wish for nothing better.”

Sources: South African Jewish Report, Wits Archive

CLIVE NOBLE

1938-2022

[MBBCh 1961]

Dr Clive Noble was born in Johannesburg in 1938. He readily admitted that he disliked school and matriculated with four Ds, an E and an FF for Latin. With his sights set on studying medicine, Dr Noble did an aptitude test through the Department of Labour and was told he stood little chance. His luck turned when, two weeks after the academic year started, he was called to study medicine at Wits. In his first year he achieved two firsts and in his final year, he came third in his class of 92 students.

Dr Noble was a keen sportsman and decided to study sports medicine simultaneously with orthopaedics. He was one of the first doctors to focus on a treatment for different sports injuries. He served as a medical adviser for cricket, rugby, football and boxing in South Africa. In 1995 he was one of the founders of the first sports medicine clinic in South Africa. The model template to include an orthopaedist, a sports medicine physician, radiologist, physiotherapist, biokineticist and dietician in the patient’s treatment became the template for similar centres countrywide.

As part of his interest in protecting boxers from injury he studied the cushioning properties of boxing gloves and his findings influenced the way that boxing gloves are manufactured today.

In his retirement in 2003 he moved to Plettenberg Bay and ran a historic country guest house in The Crags, with his wife Colleen of nearly 60 years.

He is survived by his wife, three children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Sources: 1961 Wits alumni biography and Jon Patricios, South African Journal of Sports Medicine

KHALID ISMAIL

1939-2021

[MBBCh 1963]

One of the first physicians to serve underprivileged communities in Polokwane, loyal Witsie Dr Khalid Ismail passed away on 12 August 2021.

Dr Ismail was born in Pietersburg, as the town was known then, and when he finished high school, he was required to apply to the minister of education to study at Wits Medical School. He returned to his hometown after graduation at the height of the apartheid era and, in terms of the Group Areas Act, was not allowed to practise in town. A man known for his quiet manner, he admitted to Arena magazine in 2003 that he was disappointed and even angry about the legislation, but was also motivated to make a success of his career. He married Khadija Ismail and they had five children – all of them Wits medical graduates: Kabeer (MBBCh 1995), Khaleel (MBBCh 1994), Kuraysha (MBBCh 1997), Kaamila (MBBCh 1999) and Kareema (MBBCh 1999).

He served the communities around Pietersburg as a medical practitioner for many years and obtained an additional Bachelor of Arts degree from Unisa in 1969, MCFP in 1976 and FCP in 1980.

In 1994, he took a special interest in diabetes, joined the Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology’s programme and went on to earn a diploma in diabetes through Cardiff University at the age of 70.

His passion to serve others was acknowledged by the Health Professions Council of South Africa through a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Dr Ismail travelled 60-120km daily to run satellite and primary healthcare clinics in outlying community areas such as Potgietersus, Mateba’s Kraal (Mankweng area) and Houtbosdorp (Moeketse area), and assisted the Lutheran Clinic. He distributed blankets, infant milk powder and nutritional sachets as a service to combat marasmus and kwashiorkor. He was also honoured for his firm commitment to equal education for women in the community and advocated for women to be given equal opportunities to study at tertiary institutions.

Dr Ismail was known for his refined manner and endearing personality. His family, colleagues and the communities he served remember him as a gentle and careful listener, who never lost his temper and was ever eager to learn from others.

He is survived by his wife, five children, 20 grandchildren and friends in the Polokwane community.

Sources: Ismail family, Wits archive, Health Professions Council of South Africa

1940s

ROGER BODEN

1942-2021

[BArch 1966, PGDipTP 1973, MUD 1980, PhD 1983]

Professor Roger Boden died in Johannesburg on 3 October 2021 after a short illness. He was 78. He served on the academic staff at Wits for nearly 30 years, retiring as an associate professor in 2003. He was born in Johannesburg on 27 November 1942 and matriculated from St John’s College. In 1973 he married Dr Edeltraud von Varendorff (MBBCh 1970). Professor Boden studied architecture, town and regional planning and urban design. In 1989, he completed his doctorate at the University of Washington in Seattle.

He began his career working as an architect before joining Rand Mines Properties, where he gained valuable experience in urban planning. In 1973, the joined the then fledgling Department of Town and Regional Planning at Wits and contributed centrally to its progress. He was also active on many university committees, including campus planning and library administration.

Professor Boden was passionate about urban design and about teaching, inspiring many students to develop their creative and practical skills in the field, and heading the urban design programme.

Boden advised the Johannesburg and Sandton town councils on matters relating to town planning and design and supported local resident associations. In his retirement, he returned to architecture, designing churches, school extensions and private homes. He also had the opportunity to explore his interests in art, books, history and travel.

He is survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.

Source: Professor Philip Harrison

RAMARUMO MONAMA

1947-2022

[LLB 1984]

Justice Ramarumo Monama passed away on 17 February 2022 following a short illness. He was an active judge in the Gauteng Division of the High Court since 2010. After completing matric, he obtained a Bachelor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of the North in Limpopo and was awarded a Bachelor of Laws degree from Wits in 1984. He was also a member of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits and published a paper in 1983 on “pass” courts. He served his articles at Webber Wentzel attorneys and qualified as an attorney. He ran one of the biggest law firms in Mahikeng for many years. He was a director of Sun International and a board member of Bophuthatswana Legal Aid.

At his funeral service, he was described as a “brilliant jurist and lawyer”, a man who “kept his promises”, and “a strict, but good man” who “upheld the scale of justice with unflinching impartiality”.

Former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng wrote in a tribute: “He worked extraordinarily hard, was not sympathetic to mediocrity and was careful about who he employed and gave briefs to... He nurtured potential of young legal minds and gave opportunity to advocates hungry for success.”

He “was a focused, principled, diligent, straight-talking and amazingly basic person”.

Source: News24

CONRAD VIEDGE

1948-2022

[BA 1981, BA Hons 1982, MA 1984]

Conrad Viedge, who was an integral part of the MBA programme for almost 35 years at the Wits Business School (WBS), passed away on 4 February 2022 after battling cancer. Thousands of students were taught, mentored and guided by Viedge and were inspired by his passion for education.

Viedge held various positions at the WBS, including MBA director, acting head of executive education, director of international programmes, and director of the international executivedevelopment programme. He was wholly committed to business education and the positive role it can play in shaping people’s lives and careers. During his time at WBS, he was closely involved in the design of several management and leadership development programmes and took a personal, deeply vested interest in the success of the students he taught.

Viedge was raised in the Eastern Cape and was a registered industrial psychologist. He consulted in the areas of leadership, organisational effectiveness, performance management and self-management. He published articles and won numerous awards during his tenure at WBS.

He was well known for his kindness and thoughtfulness – someone who always had the best interests of his students at heart.

He is survived by his son Roland and daughter Alison, and their families.

Source: Wits University

GRAHAM PIRIE

1947-2021

[BSc Eng 1972]

Respected civil engineer Graham Stephen Pirie, who played a pivotal role in the consulting engineering fraternity, passed away on 9 November 2021 following a heart attack. Born on 3 December 1947 in Johannesburg, he matriculated from King Edward VII High School in 1965 and started his tertiary education at Wits in 1967. In his first year, he registered for a mechanical engineering degree, but switched to civil engineering. “This was the best decision I ever made. I slotted into a career that has been a perfect fit. Civil engineering enables you to make a visible difference to people’s lives, dealing directly with quality of life,” he said in an interview in 2013.

He was a bursar of the City of Johannesburg and remained in service to the City until 1995. His distinguished career eventually took him to the position of deputy city engineer roads, before becoming director of metropolitan planning. He worked with provincial and state departments and had a hand in realising projects such as the construction of the M1 and M2, and the development of Newtown. After 1994 he played a meaningful role in the transformation process of the Johannesburg City Council.

In 1995 Pirie joined the then South African Association of Consulting Engineers (now CESA) as executive director and during the next 18 years, until his retirement in 2013, was active in the local and international consulting engineering fraternity. He helped establish the School of Consulting Engineers and worked with others in negotiating the Construction Industry Charter, which became the legislated template guiding black economic empowerment in the sector. He was a valued Fellow of SAAE.

Pirie married Patricia, née Lindsay (BCom 1978), in 1970. He had keen interests in reading, photography, swimming, birding and wildlife in general. He said he lived by his father-in-law’s philosophy: “Bite off more than you can chew and chew it.”

He is survived by his wife, two daughters and four grandchildren.

Sources: Fellow Johann du Plessis, The South African Academy of Engineering (SAAE) and Engineering News

LAWRENCE DISTILLER

1944-2021

[BSc 1965, MBBCh 1968]

A pre-eminent voice on diabetes in South Africa and founder of the Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE), Professor Lawrence Distiller died on 1 December 2021.

Professor Distiller qualified as a physician, obtaining his FCP(SA) in 1972, and subsequently sub-specialised in endocrinology and diabetes. He worked as an associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado for a year before returning to South Africa in 1982 and entering private practice. He was elected a Fellow of American College of Endocrinology, a Fellow of Royal Society of Medicine and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He was a member of numerous societies and organisations, authored over 80 scientific publications, presented at international diabetes conferences and was on the editorial board of four publications. He was a member of the International Diabetes Federation Guideline committee. At the CDE, he understood that enabling patients to control their diabetes was the most efficacious method to treat the disease and he initiated the diabetes-team approach to diabetes. Every patient was assigned not only a physician but an educator, dietician, biokineticist, podiatrist, and sometimes even a psychologist. The results showed improved diabetes control in the community under his care.

At his memorial service, award-winning fellow endocrinologist Professor Roy Shires (MBBCh 1971, PhD 1985, BSc 2005), spoke about the collegiality among Professor Distiller, Professor Harry Seftel (BSc 1949, MBBCh 1952, LLD 1995), and Professor Barry Joffe (MBBCh 1962, PhD 1965). “Larry was a great inspiration,” he said.

Distiller was a wildlife enthusiast and a rugby and cricket fan. He is survived by his children, grandchildren and second wife Barbara.

Sources: SA Jewish Report, Wits archive

BRIAN WATT

1940-2021

[BSc Eng 1964]

Brian Watt passed away in North Richland Hills, Texas on 28 December 2021 with his children by his side.

Born in South Africa, Watt always had an aptitude for maths and science. He was awarded the South African Gold Medal for Top Engineering Student. At Wits he played for the under 19A rugby team as well as taking on the lead role in the choral society’s production of “The Gondoliers”.

A subsequent full scholarship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his PhD took him and his wife Clare Lighton to the United States.

Watts returned to South Africa to work for Ove Arup, where he designed bridges and managed construction projects. This led to his selection as project manager for the revolutionary Centre Pompidou in Paris. He learned to speak, read and write French fluently in six months at the beginning of his tenure as project manager.

Later he worked in the Ove Arup London office before emigrating to Texas with his family in 1977.

Following a rich and diverse professional career in engineering and business, he retired to a life of sailing. His adventures culminated in a five-year sailing trip around the world. During that time he remarried, visited remote islands, explored new cultures, survived a cyclone and visited over 40 countries. In 2003 a car accident left him permanently disabled and he had to give up sailing.

He lived a life of learning, adventure and mentorship. His tenacity, intellect and generosity changed lives. He is survived by his sister Merle (Watt) Shirley, children Belinda Watt and her husband Mike O’Keefe, Caroline (Watt) Waggoner and her husband Mark, Trevor Watt and his wife Melanie and grandchildren Matt, Casey, Aidan and Sophie.

Source: Houston Chronicle

HUW PHILLIPS

1947-2022

[PhD 2019]

Professor Emeritus Huw Phillips, a Wits stalwart renowned for his teaching, research, and leadership in mining engineering the world over, passed away on 26 January 2022.

Born in Wales, Professor Phillips studied electrical engineering at the University of Bristol and took his first job with the National Coal Board, the agency tasked with running the coal mines of the UK. His work focused on improving the productivity of the country’s collieries through mechanisation – at a time when some underground operations still used pit ponies to haul coal and equipment.

But underlying much of his growing expertise was a preoccupation with health and safety. He had grown up in a village near Aberfan, where a coal-tip slide in 1966 killed 144 people – 116 of them schoolchildren. He had arrived home from university on the day of the disaster for a family function, and took part in the recovery operations.

His interest in mining led him to complete an MSc and PhD in mining engineering at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His work and research continued in Australia. In 1985 he became the Chamber of Mines Professor of Mining Engineering at Wits. During his time as head of department and subsequently head of school, he dramatically increased undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments, and secured industry funding for research. Professor Phillips served for over 27 years as a full professor in the School of Mining Engineering. His research efforts at Wits covered five main areas: mechanised mining systems; spontaneous combustion; mine ventilation in deep-level gold mines – including software tools for designing cooling strategies; monitoring and controlling respirable dust in coal mines; and preventing methane ignitions and coal dust explosions. A formidable administrator and leader, he was appointed as an Emeritus Professor in 2013 and continued to supervise postgraduate students and to serve the University in various roles.

He received the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’s prestigious Brigadier Stokes Memorial Award, lauded by the mining industry, professional bodies and international academics.

As a leading researcher in mine safety and health, with a formidable career of achievements, Professor Phillips earned a Doctor of Engineering degree from Wits in 2019. His work was described as a record of engineering development of major technological, economic and social significance. He was much loved by family, friends, colleagues, students and industry partners who knew him.

Sources: Wits University and Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

JOAN GEAR

1947-2022

[BA 1981, BA Hons 1995, DHSM 1990]

Passionate advocate for the disenfranchised and public health administrator Joan Gear died in her beloved Lowveld in the town of Hoedspruit after a long illness on 20 January 2022.

She was born on the East Rand in 1947 to Aina (née Lauer, BCom 1932) and Jack Street. Prior to her studies at Wits as a mature social sciences student in 1979, she was a legal secretary with Edward Nathan in Johannesburg. After graduating in 1981, she started in the Wits Medical School Faculty Office in charge of medical student admissions and was later promoted to faculty secretary in Commerce and assistant registrar in charge of the Academic Information Systems Unit. This unit was responsible for converting the paper-based academic information system into a much-needed computerised data base.

In 1998, she was lured by Dr Eric Buch (MBBCh 1981, MSc 1985, DTM&H 1986, DOH 1986) and Cedric de Beer (BA 1974) to help start the Centre for Health Policy, a unit that continues its health policy work in the School of Public Health today. She blossomed in this role, enjoying the close collaboration in “the cauldron” of the Department of Community Health.

In 1986, with her husband John (MBBCh 1967, DPH 1972, DTM&H 1979, DSc honoris causa 2017), she conceived the idea of establishing the Wits Rural Facility (WRF) near Acornhoek. After negotiating many hurdles, they made the leap of faith and committed to the founding of WRF, supported by a donation from the then Anglo American Chairman’s Fund in 1989, resigning from their Wits posts. She added further Wits qualifications, being awarded her postgraduate research with distinction.

Gear’s ideas and efforts were rewarded with rapid expansion of WRF’s focus into new areas and partnerships. By 1994, all but one of Wits’ faculties were sending students and staff to the centre to contribute to the then shallow understanding of the needs of marginalised rural people of South Africa. The facility had 23 fulltime donor-funded academic staff from the disciplines of ecology, law, education, engineering, commerce, architecture and social anthropology alongside the health sciences.

Unfortunately, the WRF was viewed with suspicion by more traditional forces, who considered a Wits presence in a remote rural area a departure from its core function as an urban university. In 1996, her post as administrative director was made redundant and the WRF was downgraded to a “Wits residence” for rural activities. Some funders remained and a trickle of students was sustained. The Agincourt Demographic Surveillance Unit flourished, gaining Medical Research Council Unit status. Then, in about 2010, a vice-chancellor’s review threw WRF a lifeline, recognising its huge potential.

On leaving Wits, Gear was free to focus on gardening, watercolour painting, farming, quilting, birding, horse riding and exploring many Southern and East African destinations with her adult children. She was a wordsmith of note, read voraciously and eclectically and won 90% of the nightly Scrabble games.

She is survived by her husband John, her son Peter, stepchildren Sasha (BA Wits 1996) and Fraser, as well as his wife Sandra, her grandson, Luka Jo, her brother Barry and his family.

Source: Professor John Gear (MBBCh 1967, DPH 1972, DTM&H 1979, DSc honoris causa 2017)

1970s

ANDRE PIEHL

1970-2022

[BCom 1993]

Top triathlete and businessman Andre Piehl died in a cycling crash near the Cradle of Mankind on 1 February 2022. Piehl was an operations executive with JSE-listed Famous Brands.

Tributes shared on social media described him as a devoted father, husband and enthusiastic triathlete who loved life and the outdoors.

Paul Ingpen, Triathlon SBR, Mountain Bike and Road Bike magazine publisher, said: “Andre Piehl adored the sport of triathlon as much as he lived for his family. He had a big heart and smile. He was warm, honest and worked very hard to reach his goals.”

Piehl realised his dream of competing in the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Kona, Hawaii a few years ago. In 2011, he finished 11th in the 40-44 division at the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Nevada, and he went on to compete at the ultra-distance Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in 2017. He also finished sixth against younger opponents, in the elite age group, at the national championships in 2013.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon, and teenage twins Tyler and Axel.

Source: News24

JANICE ANGOVE

1974-2022

[BSc 1995, PDipEd 1996, BA Hons 1996, BEconSc 2003, BEconSc 2004]

Janice Angove died on 8 January 2022.

Angove served the Actuarial Society of South Africa as an examiner for many years. She was also deputy chair of the MicroInsurance Committee and a member of the Africa Committee. She initially studied psychology but discovered actuarial science, which become her true passion. She started her actuarial career working as a consulting actuary at Quindiem, and then combined her enthusiasm for teaching and actuarial science by taking on a major-time lectureship at Wits. She was deeply committed to her students and took special care to be accessible, supportive and nurturing. Her projects across Africa have been instrumental in developing risk protection.

In 2011 she also took on a part-time role with the Financial Services Board (which became the Financial Sector Conduct Authority) and was involved in supporting the development of microinsurance regulation. She was a member of the Products Standards Working Group commissioned by National Treasury in 2012 and an observer member of the Micro-Insurance Network and a member of the associated working group. More recently Angove was involved with the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii) set up by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the International Labour Organisation (among others) to ensure that the world’s excluded and underserved have access to insurance, allowing them to take control of their lives and reduce their vulnerability against risks. She coordinated the A2ii's regional implementation work in Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening cooperation and supporting capacity building for supervisors in the region. She also supported various projects of the Finmark Trust over the years and most recently served as a member of the FSD Network, where she presented at seminars and moderated forums.

She lived in Parkview with her cheerful household menagerie and was committed to the community as a member of the Rotary chapter. She leaves her mother Barbra, brother David and his family. Her Wits colleagues will miss her cheerful nature and unfailing willingness to lend a hand or offer support.

Source: Wits School of Statistics and Actuarial Science

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