In Memoriam

(1925-2022)

COLIN CARO

[BSc 1947, BSc Hons 1950, MBBCh 1950, Med 1960, DSc Eng honoris causa 2010]

One of the founders of bioengineering, pioneer in the study of arterial fluid mechanics, originator of the low-shearstress theory of atherosclerosis, scientist, and mentor Professor Colin Gerald Caro died on 21 February 2022 at the age of 96.

He began his medical studies at Wits after matriculating at Parktown Boys High School in Johannesburg in 1942. At the end of 1944 his studies were interrupted to volunteer for the South African Navy, where he served initially as an ordinary seaman at Saldanha Bay, and later aboard the frigate HMSAS Swale in the waters off the Cape and Equatorial East Africa.

After demobilisation in early 1946, Caro returned to Wits, but changed direction to read for a science degree in physiology while simultaneously studying towards a medical degree. The BSc Hons and MBBCh were conferred in March and December of 1950, respectively. He was awarded a doctorate in medicine in 1961 also at Wits, for a thesis entitled “Pulmonary Function in Patients with Kyphoscoliosis” in which he demonstrated that lung elastic recoil strongly determines airway resistance. After working in hospitals in South Africa, the US and the UK, Caro settled in London in 1960 as a lecturer at St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School.

In 1966, he founded the Physiological Flow Studies Unit (PFSU), a pioneering bioengineering facility at Imperial College. At the time no researchers were trained in bioengineering but as director he recruited an eclectic mix of talented mathematicians, physicists, engineers, biomedical researchers and clinicians who shared his vision of a new, multidisciplinary approach but who had little if any previous experience of it. Importantly, interactions between the fundamental and applied researchers maintained both rigour and relevance, and the quality of the recruits led to excellence in new areas of research, outside of Professor Caro’s own developing interests, including respiratory airflow, tissue mechanics, physiological heat exchange, transport in connective tissues, the analysis of arterial pulse waves, and biofluid mathematics.

Professor Caro’s foresight and skills were matched by his fund-raising and team-building abilities. PFSU was not only one of the first biofluids groups anywhere in the world but quickly grew to become an international powerhouse. The lack of an undergraduate teaching programme meant that salaries and facilities had to be supported by external funding. Over the years, he proved himself adept at obtaining grants from unorthodox sources.

A list of Professor Caro’s scientific achievements and publications explains only part of his influence. He chaired or sat on influential bodies, but his views were also sought less formally, at scientific meetings and in casual conversation.

He spoke quietly – almost inaudibly – and his handwriting was illegible. He had gravitas and great presence, which undoubtedly aided his success, but he could also be mischievous. In his early days he was known for his furious driving around London of a Messerschmitt Kabinenroller (fortuitously also known as a Karo), a car with three wheels, two seats in tandem, a motorcycle engine and not much else.

After his “retirement” in 1991 he retained an emeritus position and served as the first director of the Centre for Biological and Medical Systems at Imperial College, later to become the Imperial College Department of Bioengineering. He made daily visits to Imperial College until the start of the COVID pandemic 28 years later. He was still working on new ideas only weeks before his passing. His first and last papers are separated by 60 years.

Professor Caro’s achievements include three honorary degrees, an invited professorship at Tokyo Women's Medical College (first awardee, 1981); inaugural member, World Council for Biomechanics (1990); Foreign Fellowship of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (initial awardee, 1994); Founding Fellowship of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (2000); the Arthur Guyton Award from the International Society of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science (2003); Outstanding Engineer at the Engineer Technology and Innovation Awards (2007); and Annual Harveian Lecturer at the Harveian Society of London (2011).

Professor Caro was married to Rachel Alice Caro, an architect, for 57 years, until her death in 2013. He later married Marilyn Evans, who had worked at PFSU. He is survived by a son, Simon, and daughter, Joanna, from his first marriage, and their children and grandchildren.

Sources: Wits University archives and Journal of Biomechanical Engineering

(1925-2022)

SHIRLEY SIEW

[MBBCh 1947, MMed 1963]

Professor Shirley Siew passed away peacefully after a short illness on 16 June 2022 at the age of 97. She was a professor of pathology at the College of Human Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Michigan State University. She also practised as a senior pathologist at Ingham Regional Medical Center and was a consultant in cardiovascular pathology at St Lawrence Hospital, a faculty director in electron microscopy, and later an emeritus pathologist at Ingham Regional Medical Center and Sparrow Hospital.

Born in St Petersburg, Russia, on 12 March 1925, Siew was the youngest of three children. Her family escaped antisemitism to South Africa in 1934. According to a family member, Evana Siew (BCom 1996), Shirley skipped two grades because she was so bright, and then went on to follow in her sister Tanya’s (BSc 1942, MBBCh 1947) footsteps by joining the handful of female students studying medicine at Wits.

Professor Siew developed an interest and skill in electron microscopy when this was still in its infancy. During the late 1950s, the need for South Africa to have a National Pathology Group was recognised and Professor Siew was among the 34 delegates who agreed upon the formation of the South African Society of Pathologists (SASP) and prepared a working constitution. At the time, there was only one pathology discipline on the registry of specialties of the South African Medical and Dental Council so SASP was called upon to represent laboratory-based professionals on a wide spectrum of issues. The initial objectives of the society were to “advance pathology and to facilitate contact between those interested in pathology and related subjects”.

In 1970 she moved to Indianapolis and two years later to Pittsburgh. In 1977, she moved to Michigan, where she stayed for the rest of her life, becoming a professor of pathology at Michigan State University.

In 2011 Professor Siew was named a Fellow of the American Heart Association, and in 2013 she was appointed to membership of the Clinical Department of Biomedical Sciences. She published numerous articles, participated in scientific exhibitions, and presented at over 150 national and international scientific presentations and conferences. Her countless awards for contributions to medicine included two Gold Medals from the American Medical Association; a Dedication to Teaching Award from Michigan State University in 2000, awarded to a faculty member who has demonstrated dedication to excellence in teaching integrated clinical sciences in systems courses; a Pre-Clinical Teachers Award from the College of Human Medicine; and a Dedication Award from the College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Professor Siew had a reputation for knowing each student by name and ensuring active participation in her lectures. In 2002, her students honoured her with a plaque and her portrait outside the histology lab for “her commitment and dedication in teaching the Michigan State University student body in the fields of cardiology and pathology for over 20 years.” Twelve years later, several of her students created the “Dr Shirley Siew Student Award” to support students who met the criteria to study clinical or doctoral degrees from Michigan State University.

In November 2021, four months short of her 97th birthday, she retired officially.

Besides her devotion to medicine, Professor Siew was also an avid pilot. She was one of the founding members of the Women’s Aviation Association and participated in the South African National Flying Championship in 1965. She continued to fly recreationally well into her 90s.

Sources: Michigan State University, South African Jewish Report

(1931-2022)

HYMIE KLEIN

[MBBCh 1953]

Gynaecologist and obstetrician Dr Hymie Ronald Klein, known as “Ronnie”, passed away peacefully at the age of 91 on 21 April 2022.

He was born in Benoni to immigrant parents and after graduating from Wits in 1953 he specialised as physician as well as gynaecologist and obstetrician. Dr Klein was acknowledged by his peers and patients as one of the country’s best diagnosticians. He believed in life-long learning, publishing widely and addressing many congresses and symposiums.

He lectured at the Johannesburg General Hospital and Wits Medical School and was an examiner for final year medical students.

Despite his achievements and accolades, Dr Klein was described as “remarkably humble and kind, sought after by many for his Solomonic wisdom and insights”. He was a loving husband, and father of four daughters: Deborah, Lisa (BA 1993, BA Hons 1994), Julia and Jessica.

Source: Jane Klein

(1931-2022)

NOEL GARSON

[BA 1952, BA Hons 1953, MA 1955]

Former Dean in the Faculty of Arts and professor of history, Professor Noel George Garson, passed away peacefully at his home in Johannesburg on 15 July 2022 at the age of 90.

Professor Garson was born in Johannesburg in 1931 and his association with Wits extended more than 50 years, during which time he served as a leading academic and scholar. He obtained a first-class Bachelor of Arts degree and was awarded the Herbert Ainsworth Scholarship in modern history, and in 1955 obtained a master’s with distinction. His dissertation on “The Swaziland Question and a Road to the Sea (1887- 1895)” was published in the Archives Year Book of South African History (Part II, 1957). In 1957 he obtained another firstclass degree at the Sidney Sussex College at the University of Cambridge. He returned to Wits, where he taught economic history before taking up a lectureship in the history department in 1958.

He was appointed as a senior lecturer in 1964, and then as professor and head of the Department of History in 1967, at the age of 36. He remained in the department for 30 years until his retirement in 1996, except for two terms, during which he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts.

A thought-provoking and inspiring history teacher, Professor Garson was known for his empathic and fair approach to his colleagues and students. He helped many navigate their professional and personal challenges. Colleagues and family members have described him as “judicious, caring and compassionate”, “straight in all his dealings and a stranger to malice”, “maintaining the highest of standards in dealings with all matters and relationships”.

As a historian, his interests included the English Reformation, the philosophy of history, and South African political history, in particular the complicated era of Jan Smuts. Professor Garson was instrumental in expanding the history syllabus to the study of the liberation struggle in South Africa and on the African continent. He was able to accommodate competing vantage points in the department with flexibility and diplomacy.

Professor Garson’s expertise extended beyond Wits. He was an active University member of the Joint Matriculation Board and the Independent Examinations Board. He chaired the Parktown High School for Girls, worked with the Human Sciences Research Council, and did much to preserve South Africa’s historical records. He published widely in historical journals and other publications.

Throughout his life he remained intellectually curious, an ardent sports enthusiast and nature lover. He leaves behind his remarkable family of Witsies: his wife, Yvonne, who was a librarian at the William Cullen library; his four daughters, Lisa (BSc 1988, BSc Hons 1990), Catherine (PDip Ed 1981, BA Hons 2009), Fiona (BArch 1988) and Philippa (BA 1986, BA Hons 1989), his sonsin-law, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

See WITSReview October 2014. https://issuu.com/ witsalumnirelations/docs/october_2014

Source: Wits University and archives

(1936-2022)

GERALD GILCHRIST

[MBBCh 1957]

Paediatric haematologist-oncologist Professor Gerald “Gerry” Gilchrist died in his home in Minneapolis, US on 10 April 2022. He was born in Springs, east of Johannesburg. He served as Helen C Levitt Professor for 12 years, and chair of paediatric and adolescent medicine at Mayo Clinic and Mayo Medical School. From 1981 to 2000, he directed the Mayo Comprehensive Haemophilia Centre. He chaired the National Childhood Cancer Foundation’s Medical Advisory Committee, the American Board of Paediatrics (ABP) Sub Board of Paediatric Haematology-Oncology, the American Academy of Paediatric section on Haematology/Oncology, and its Council on Sections. He also played significant roles in the activities of the Children’s Cancer Group, and was a director of the ABP, and a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committee for Paediatrics.

Professor Gilchrist met his best friend and future wife, Toni Besset, in 1967, on a flight from Houston to Los Angeles; they connected over the novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. After retirement, he and Toni moved to Minneapolis. He was a founding board member of Reach Out and Read MN and volunteered in the Little Earth community, helping children learn to read. Despite many awards, honours and leadership positions, Professor Gilchrist was described as “a humble leader and mentor; he asked to be remembered as a good guy and an honest broker”. Among his many honours were the National Foundation’s Joseph D Early Award in 1997; the America Medical Association’s Abraham Jacobi Memorial Award in 2001; and American Academy of Paediatrics Child Advocacy Award in 2012.

He was a loyal Witsie, serving on the SRC in 1956/1957. In 2004, he wrote in "Pediatrics" about the incredible contributions made by Wits-trained physicians in the United States. “It is not possible to separate the roles of seed and the soil in contributing to this impressive list of achievements. However, in my opinion, these unique accomplishments reflect in large part the superb clinical training and the commitment to education of the teaching staff at Wits Medical School’s affiliated paediatric units. This suggests that the key ingredients for realising the potential of talented students is not necessarily high-technology laboratories or fancy facilities; where there are dedicated and serious teachers dedicated to hands-on medical education, the seeds of greatness will grow.”

He is survived by his wife, sister Maureen, three children, their spouses and grandchildren.

Sources: Wits University archives, The Star Tribune

(1938-2022)

JOHANNES DE BEER

[BSc 1960, BSc Hons 1962, MSc 1966]

Respected engineering and environmental geologist Johannes “Joe” de Beer died peacefully on 16 April 2022 at the age of 84.

He was born and raised in Pretoria, matriculating from Helpmekaar High School for Boys in 1955 and going on to major in geography and geology at Wits. His first job was at the General Mining and Finance Corporation in the Free State gold fields and he returned to Wits to complete his honours in economic geology in 1961. In 1964, he changed direction and completed his master’s in science in engineering geology with Dr Tony Brink as his supervisor. His thesis, with hundreds of profiles around Johannesburg and his Engineering Geological Map of Johannesburg is still used by many and was recently digitised.

He worked at Ove Arup and Partners from 1965 to 1979. Notable projects included the Carlton Centre (with its 30 metre deep basement covering four city blocks), the Standard Bank Centre (30m basement, built over old stopes on Main and South reefs), the Hillbrow microwave tower (269m-high concrete structure) and the Vaal Reefs South Reduction works (these had complex foundations in dolomitic terrain).

As a committed member of the profession, he was involved in the South Africa Section of the Association of Engineering Geologists in the 1970s and was chairman of the organisation for several years. He was offered a Senior Emeritus Membership in 2009 and in 2014 he was awarded a Gold Medal.

He left an indelible impression on the field of engineering geology and his passionate interest in data banking kept not only his own records in order but those of the companies he worked in. He set up the Johannesburg Geotechnical Data Bank. According to the South African Institute for Engineering and Environmental Geologists, it is perhaps the last functioning data bank in the country.

He was an avid collector of rocks and a keen environmentalist, who cared deeply about botany, and loved indigenous trees and succulents.

In 1966 he married a music teacher, Patricia, who developed Alzheimer’s at the age of 49 and died at the age of 64. De Beer is survived by his partner Anna Batchelor-Steyn and two children Tamsen and Charl (BCom 1994, BAcc 1995).

Source: South African Institute for Engineering and Environmental Geologists

(1933-2022)

ANTHONY MEYERS

[MBBCh 1960, DSc Med 2020]

Respected nephrologist Professor Emeritus Anthony Molyneux Meyers, known as “Tony”, died on 24 September 2022. After matriculating from St John’s College, he took an early interest in renal disease as a qualified doctor. He was a pioneer in haemodialysis and kidney transplantation and was a member of the team that performed the first kidney transplant in Johannesburg in the early 60s.

In 1989 he was made professor of nephrology at Wits, a position he retained until 2013. He was the founder member of the SA Renal Society as well as the South African Transplant Society, the African Association of Nephrology and the National Kidney Foundation of South Africa. He drew attention to the country’s chronic kidney disease burden, helping to establish early intervention programmes, educating health providers and setting up regional dialysis centres.

He is remembered as an inspiring teacher and mentor who had an insatiable curiosity and enjoyed his pursuits of sport, mountain climbing, game- and-bird watching and fishing with enthusiasm. He completed his doctorate in medicine at the age of 87. He is survived by his wife Jennifer Craig Allan, whom he married in 1958, and their four sons: Kevin (MBBCh 1983, TM&H 1990), Stephen, Neville and Bruce, their spouses and children.

Sources: Wits medical class of 1960 archives and memorial service

(1939-2022)

HAROLD EDWIN PRICE

[BSc Hons 1960]

Harold Edwin Price, known as Eddie, was born in Johannesburg on 26 January 1939. His grandparents had come from Lithuania, but his father was born in Oudtshoorn and his mother in Johannesburg.

Price went on to Rosettenville Central School and then Forest High School. At 13 his life changed forever when he was introduced to the game of chess. In 1954, the 14-year-old Price made newspaper headlines by beating chess grandmaster and world champion Max Euwe, to the astonishment of everyone.

He became a schoolboy chess champion several times over, a game which was to prove central to his life. A born scientist, he won the Elsie Ballot Scholarship for study at the University of Cambridge after his BSc Honours in physics at Wits. He and his wife Joan moved to England, where he completed his MPhil in physics at St John’s College, Cambridge, and his oldest daughter, Victoria, was born. He came back to South Africa to a lecturing job at Wits, teaching general physics, quantum mechanics, electrodynamics, thermodynamics and special relativity. In the years that followed, he was a visiting lecturer at Cornell University in the United States and at the University of Kent at Canterbury in England. He delivered the Einstein Memorial Lecture at Wits on 15 March 1979, 100 years and a day after Einstein’s birth on 14 March 1879.

Status mattered not to Price and for years he occupied a tiny office at Wits that was “suspended in an undeclared mezzanine space”. He was a big character whose social world and numerous friends around the globe, revolved around chess, squash, lecturing physics, daily runs, playing bridge and teaching. He was the sole parent for his three daughters after his wife’s death nearly 40 years ago.

His competitive chess days ended in the early 2000s when he represented South Africa for the last time at the World Seniors. After his death, tributes poured in from the chess community around the world for his lifetime contribution to the sport and he was described as a “true giant of the game” and “a very sad loss for SA Chess”. He is remembered for his intellect as a physicist; his humour and intelligence; his dedication as a teacher of maths, physics and chess; and above all, his honesty and integrity, a man who lived every single day true to himself.

He is survived by his three Witse-educated daughters and their families.

Sources: Deborah (BA 1980) Victoria (BA 1984,PDipEd 1985) and Tonia Price (BSc 1988, MSc 1992)

(1941-2021)

DAWN IRENE STEPHENS

[BSc 1961]

A proud Wits alumna, a devoted sister, daughter, wife and mother of three, long serving community leader, energetic grandmother and a respected chief chemist, Dawn Stephens, née Cawood, died on 4 December 2021, aged 80, after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Stephens was born in Boksburg to James and Maud Cawood and grew up in a civic-minded family. Her father served on the Boksburg Town Council for 22 years and was mayor from 1959 until 1969 and again in 1975. She was deputy head girl of Boksburg High School and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry and applied mathematics in 1961. Stephens started working as a chemist for Anglo American Central Metallurgical Laboratories and then moved to SAPPI from 1963 until 1967. She then took time out to start her family before going back to work for East Rand Gold and Uranium from 1980 till 1990. In the later part of her career, she was involved with mentoring young graduates doing research and development work. In 1990 she moved to Impala Platinum Refineries and was promoted in 1993 to chief chemist, first in the Nickel and Copper Laboratory and then in the Platinum Metals Laboratory.

She served on numerous community committees both at local government and on a professional level and in most instances as chairman. In 1975, she fought in her father’s ward (as an independent candidate) and won the by-election to fill his seat on the Town Council. She served for 24 years as a councillor and was later awarded the title of Alderman for her many years of dedication and service.

Boksburg grew and prospered during this time and went on to become a city. During her time in local government, she spearheaded the building of the Boksburg Library, helped get the Strelitzia Service Centre and Cosmos Home for senior citizens built, fought to get pensioner rebates for rates introduced and obtained concessions for disabled motorists. She stopped the old Post Office from being demolished and got it declared a historical monument, and also campaigned for the revamping of the Boksburg North swimming pool to meet Olympic standards.

In her early 60s she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer but was asked to stay on and consult even though she was undergoing treatment. She beat breast cancer and would generously give her time to supporting fundraising initiatives and encouraging other breast cancer survivors. After her retirement she also served as an external assessor on the Wits Admissions Board.

Stephens enjoyed gardening, travelling, playing bridge and spending time with her family and friends. She is remembered for her courage, mentoring of others and astute bridge skills. She had an enormous zest for life and love for her family and friends. She believed that personal fulfilment comes from having a well-rounded life.

She is survived by her three children Raymond, Brett and Debbie and beloved granddaughter, Sarah.

Source: Debbie Wray

(1943-2022)

MARILYN MARTIN

[MArch 1981]

Respected curator, lecturer and author Maria Helena “Marilyn” Martin died on 22 May 2022 in Oranjezicht, Cape Town from cancer. She was an architectural historian with research interests in early twentieth century modernism and the former head of the Iziko National Art Museum. According to news reports she completed her last book from a hospital bed on her cellphone.

Martin grew up in Robertson and Heidelberg. She started university at the age of 23, while working at a newspaper in various capacities, and completed her honours degree in history of art from the University of South Africa.

She was a single mother with two children and was offered a position as a lecturer in art history at the University of Durban- Westville after her ex-husband moved to Scotland. She stayed for five years and later moved to Wits. She initially worked at the university’s Performing Arts Centre, doing administration “because I couldn’t get a teaching job without a master’s degree”. She registered to do a master’s in architectural history and was soon appointed as a lecturer of the history of art and architecture in the Department of Architecture.

Martin took on the role of director of the South African National Gallery in Cape Town from Raymond van Niekerk (BDS 1953) in 1990. She acknowledged it was her experience at Wits that informed her decision to place work of different artists and time frames, for example the historical African and contemporary work, in the exhibition. She was unafraid of the prevailing cultural patriarchal orthodoxy and during her tenure she promoted an enlightened agenda.

Martin initiated several projects to redress past injustices and transform future policy. She learned isiXhosa and the museum started using languages apart from English and Afrikaans. She broadened the acquisitions policy to include works not traditionally defined as “fine art”, such as beadwork, ceramics, textiles, photography, cartoon drawings and architectural design. She ensured a greater transparency in the way the gallery operated and even made entry to the museum free. She repatriated artefacts and artworks (including about 2 000 works by Gerard Sekoto).

Martin was appointed director of art collections for Iziko Museums in 2001 and retired in 2008 but remained active in art circles. She was a member of the National Arts Council from 1997 to 2004 and a trustee of the Arts and Culture Trust until 2007. She served on the Council of Iziko Museums from 2010 until 2013.

Martin was described as “stylish, academically honed and politically enlightened”. While her demeanour may have been tough, she had a kind and generous heart. A close friend, Melvyn Minnaar, told Beeld newspaper that she made sure the homeless around the South African National Gallery got food, especially on Christmas Day, and she knew many of their names.

She curated numerous exhibitions of South African art around the world, including Mali (1994 and 1996), Denmark (1996), France (1997), the USA (2002 and 2003) and for the 2002 São Paulo Bienal. She co-curated Picasso and Africa in 2006 and the Louis Maqhubela Retrospective at the Standard Bank Gallery in 2010.

Martin wrote numerous articles on art, culture and architecture in academic journals, exhibition catalogues, books, magazines and newspapers. She was the author of Between Dreams and Realities: A History of the South African National Gallery, 1871-2017 (Print Matters, 2019). https://issuu.com/witsalumnirelations/ docs/wits_review__april_2020_vol43_issuu/82.

Her most recent monograph titled Kevin Atkinson – Art and Life (Print Matters, 2022) is due to be released later this year.

Martin was an honorary research associate at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, University of Cape Town. She served as visiting professor at Kingston University, London, in 2009.

In 2002 she was admitted to the Legion of Honour of the Republic of France at the rank of Officer and in 2013 she received the medal of the Fondation Alliance Française in Paris. She was also compiling a group exhibition for the Hermanus Fine Arts Festival to open its tenth year of existence in the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg, touring the country. She served on the National Arts Council as a board member and was also on the board of the Creative Arts Foundation.

Martin is survived by her daughter Catherine, son John (Ziyaad) and his wife Shereen, and grandchildren Leilah and Reyaaz.

Sources: ArtThrob, Beeld and Wits alumni archives

(1946-2022)

JOHN KANE- BERMAN

[BA 1968]

The former CEO of the Institute of Race Relations, John Kane-Berman, died after a short illness on 27 July 2022 at the age of 76.

Kane-Berman, the eldest of five brothers, was born in Johannesburg in 1946 and grew up in what he described as a “happy, comfortable, and politically conscious family”. His father, Louis, was chairman of the Torch Commando, the group of World War II veterans who rallied to the cause of disenfranchised coloured South Africans in the Cape in the early 1950s.

He received a firstclass matric at St John’s College in 1962, which was followed by a year in Sixth Form. He was heavily involved in the literary, historical, and political affairs at the school and was a Geoffrey Cherrington Bursary winner and the co-editor of The Johannian, to which he contributed many poems, articles and stories. He was also the secretary of the SJC Literary Society and chairman of the history society. He was the treasurer of the St John’s African Education Fund.

His education continued at Wits, and in his first year he became part of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and later became its president in 1968. At Wits, Kane-Berman led campaigns against social segregation and government interference in higher education. In 1967 when Rhodes University refused to allow delegates to a National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) conference to eat together, he supported Steve Biko’s decision to break from NUSAS and launch the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO). Kane-Berman reflected decades later that the ensuing rise of Black Consciousness had been “a healthy and necessary development”.

From Wits he went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and shortly after his return to South Africa he met Pierre Roestorf, with whom he entered a civil union performed by Constitutional Court Justice Edwin Cameron.

In 1973 he joined the staff of the Financial Mail. He was able to use his position powerfully to expose the absurdities of apartheid. In 2018 he wrote of his time there: “My time at the FM in the 1970s gave me the chance to chronicle the National Party’s attempts to reconcile the irreconcilable – economic necessity and political ideology. The NP was simultaneously trying both to loosen and to strengthen apartheid policies. It was also trying to shift the basis of discrimination from race to nationality. We were relentless in exposing each twist and turn of this saga, both the absurdity and the inhumanity.” It was while at the Financial Mail that he wrote his famous book on the Soweto uprising of 1976, "Soweto: Black Revolt, White Reaction" (Ravan Press, 1978).

He moved to freelance journalism and in 1983 become CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations. He used the organisation to plant ideas for a more just South Africa, delivering numerous public speeches, reports, newspaper articles and books. "South Africa’s Silent Revolution" (Southern Book Publishers, 1990) detailed how the resistance of ordinary people had become the most important and influential factor in defeating apartheid. In his 2017 memoir, "Between Two Fires – Holding the Liberal Centre in South African Politics" (Jonathan Ball, 2017) he wrote: “I myself never had any weapons, other than words.” The work continued after 1994. By the time he retired as CEO in 2014, the institute was one of the most influential sources of liberal ideas in the South African public domain.

He was the recipient of the St John’s Golden Eagle Award for tirelessly promoting constitutionalism and economic liberalism.

At his funeral, a friend and former colleague Paul Pereira described Kane- Berman’s primary impulse as “a love of and respect for humanity” and said “he wouldn’t see history as inevitable, political realities as immovable, crass social engineering as acceptable, nor honesty and principles as negotiable”.

Kane-Berman is survived by his partner, Pierre Roestorf, and extended family.

Sources: Wits archive, Institute of Race Relations and Business Day.

(1947-2022)

BARRY RONGE

[BA 1968, BA Hons 1969]

South African film and arts critic and writer Barry Ronge died at the age of 74 in Johannesburg on 3 July 2022.

Ronge was born in Hillbrow, Johannesburg and grew up on the West Rand where he attended Florida Park High School. He began a teaching career at St John’s College after graduating from Wits and this was followed by a 10-year stint as a lecturer in literature at the University.

Ronge contributed to commentary on literature, theatre, dance, culture and film for over three decades in South Africa. He was the first male journalist reporting for the “women’s page” of The Star between 1980 and 1982 and was also the first editor of the entertainment supplement, Star Tonight! As a food critic in the late 1980s, he wrote under the pseudonym of Rebecca Parker.

His long-running column Spit ’n Polish was published as a book in 2006 and he had a Sunday-night radio show on 702 from 1989 to 2004. He also participated on popular entertainment and magazine shows, which featured his insight into South African culture. He retired from public life in 2014 and dedicated himself to gardening.

He was awarded a British Tourism Certificate in 2003 for his contribution to the English language and culture and in 2005 received the English Academy SA’s Pringle Award for reviews and contribution to the English language. In 2014 he was awarded a Special Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sunday Times for his contribution to South Africa’s cultural life. In 2015 the newspaper announced that its Fiction Prize would be known as the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize (it is no longer named after a person).

He is survived by his partner of 45 years, Albertus van Dyk.

Sources: Sunday Times, Beeld

JILLIAN CARMAN

(1951-2022)

[BA 1972, BA Hons 1974, PhD 2003]

Dr Jillian Carman died of pancreatic cancer on 29 May 2022. She was a loyal Wits alumna, visiting research associate at the Wits School of Arts, former curator at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) and deputy-president of the executive committee of Wits Convocation for many years. She had a keen interest in South African heritage, museums, public collections, and art history. Dr Carman edited one of the volumes of probably the most definitive collection of essays on South African art history: The Visual Century: South African Art in Context 1990-2007 (Wits University Press, 2011). She was responsible for the development of the Museum Standards Toolkit, an indispensable tool for assessing compliance with international museum standards. She had a “kind, friendly and caring demeanour” and held a deep institutional memory and dedication to the life of South African art.

Source: City of Joburg and Wits archives

(1963-2022)

IAN MCKAY

[BSc 1984, BSc Hons 1985, PhD 1990, HDip Ed 1996]

Dr Ian McKay died on 13 July 2022 following a sudden heart attack. He was the education and outreach specialist for the Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences and the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits.

A geologist’s son, McKay developed an early love of life sciences. While studying at Wits he was fascinated by the remarkably good preservation of fossil insects from the Orapa Crater Lake deposits, and it became a lifelong passion to discover more about this ancient insect fauna. He completed his doctorate in 1990, on carabid beetles and the palaeoenvironment of the Orapa deposit, and subsequently worked for the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, undertaking research on ticks and discovering two new species.

He realised that he had a calling for science communication and education, so he successfully enrolled for a higher diploma in education at Wits. This led to an appointment as a science/environmental education specialist for the RADMASTE Centre associated with Wits. He led a programme in environmental education, writing science curriculum support materials, presenting courses on environmental education, and working on various special projects, one of which was to develop a low-cost kit for water quality testing.

Between 2001 and 2014 McKay managed geoscience and palaeoscience outreach in the School for Geoscience at Wits. Here he was tasked to raise sufficient funding to undertake the work and to support his salary. Accordingly, he set up the company ITM Development Education Services with the mission to facilitate development through out-ofthe-box thinking, fundraising, conscientious project management, and the communication of technical information in plain language using entertaining and interactive techniques. He also enrolled for an MBA at Wits to sharpen his business skills.

In 2014 he was appointed education and outreach officer by the newly established DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences. He performed many functions, including school curriculum analysis and liaison with the Education Department and the DST (now DSI) for evolution and palaeontology to be introduced into the national South African school curriculum for Grades 10–12. To introduce this new topic, McKay was responsible for delivering workshops on evolution and palaeontology for subject advisors from eight of the nine South African provinces. He also designed educational programmes and museum exhibits, created hands-on biology and geoscience courses, trained student guides to present tours and designed holiday science programmes. This involved the production of resource materials for teachers and learners, which were distributed to schools, as well as fundraising to produce palaeontological exhibits.

For several years he organised and ran National Science Week for Wits. This included fundraising, coordinating science communication, marketing and communication with the press, and coordinating various activities. Every year he participated in various science-related exhibitions such as Day of the Dinosaur Exhibition (Sandton Convention Centre); Yebo Gogga (at Wits); National Science Week (Sci-Bono Science Centre); Engineering Week (Sci-Bono Science Centre); Earth Sciences Week (Sci-Bono Science Centre); and Sustainable Energy Week (Sci-Bono Science Centre).

He won several awards for his innovative exhibitions, which were engaging and fun. In addition to his engagement with learners and teachers at a national level, he was also an active member of the International Geoscience Educators Organisation (IGEO), and oversaw the GeoSciEd conferences every four years, and the annual International Earth Sciences Olympiad. He served as the principal South African councillor for IGEO.

He was a founding member of the South African Geoscience Educators Association, responsible for organising and hosting the GeoSciEd VI conference at Wits in 2010.

McKay was making plans to have the first-ever South African team enter the International Earth Sciences Olympiad. His fellow geoscience educators will never forget his passion, enthusiasm and dedication to geoscience education and outreach and his wonderful sense of humour.

He was a devoted father who is survived by his wife Tracey and his daughters Gwen and Erin, and stepdaughter Joy.

Source: Genus Africa

(1968-2022)

PHINDILE XABA

[BA 2004]

Journalist Phindile Xaba died on 7 May 2022 at the age of 53 after a cancer diagnosis in 2020.

Xaba’s career included being the editor of Real Magazine, under the Media24 stable, which created “a platform for healing of women”. She was also the founding editor of the Sowetan women’s club and worked for the Mail & Guardian as the editor of The Teacher, The New Age, True Love, City Press and The Journalist among others. At the time of her death, she was a communicator in the office of the deputy minister in the Department of Public Service and Administration, Dr Chana Pilane-Majake.

Xaba began her career in print media at the age of 17, but she also worked as a television production manager, scriptwriter, producer, director and researcher, with some of her work showcased on SABC and M-Net. She had a long-standing relationship with Penn State University in Pennsylvania, working closely with journalism students and Professor Anthony Olorunnisola.

Fellow Wits graduate and journalist Mathatha Tsedu (BA Hons 2008) described Xaba as “the journalist’s journalist”. “She walked the communications route extensively, living up to her belief that information is power and that communication, particularly journalism, was critical in the developing state of democracy here at home,” he said. She was further described as a “kind, smart, exceptionally skilled, and hardworking woman”.

Xaba is survived by her daughter, Nhlakaniso, three siblings and her parents.

Sources: News24, TimesLive

(1969-2022)

PAOLO TRINCHERO

[BSc Eng 1990, MSc Eng 1993]

CEO of the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction (SAISC) Paolo Trinchero passed away on 21 August 2022 at the age of 53 following a battle with cancer.

He was involved in the steel industry in South Africa for about 30 years. His career started as a Dorbyl structural engineering bursary student and he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1990, followed by his master’s degree in 1993 under the supervision of Professor Alan Kemp, who introduced him to the workings of the SAISC through the Steel Design Code Committee.

To gain commercial experience, he then joined Macsteel Trading as an engineering manager in 2003, starting its cellular beam division, and ultimately became group business development and technical director at Macsteel Corporate Services. Throughout his 11 years at Macsteel, Trinchero never lost touch with the SAISC and in 2013 he returned to the institute as its CEO.

He was passionate about anything related to steel and a “tireless, selfless and dedicated champion” of the sector at public and private levels. The institute in South Africa is one of only six around the world. He understood that the strength of the industry – and the institute – lay in technical competence and a sense of community.

In a 2013 interview he said his philosophy in life was to “persevere and never give up”. He enjoyed DIY, hiking and spending time with his family.

He leaves his wife Lora their three children Giulio, Angelo and Sabrina.

Source: SAISC

(1972-2022)

ANDREA LEENEN

[MSc 2011]

Andrea Leenen passed away on 1 March 2022 after a short illness. Leenen was a close friend of Wits and an ardent supporter of the palaeosciences. She was CEO of the Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST) since 2000 and raised funds to build the organisation into one of the largest that support research, education and understanding of Africa's fossil history.

Leenen saw the origin sciences as a gateway for young Africans to embrace scientific thinking. To help steer learners toward a career in the African origin sciences, she co-created the award-winning Walking Tall educational theatre project with Greg Melvill-Smith in 2001. In its original form as a live theatre performance followed by an interactive science session that won the hearts and heads of learners, Walking Tall visited schools and science festivals throughout South Africa and in seven other African countries, reaching over 1.4 million beneficiaries. Recently, she led the creation of filmed Walking Tall theatre performances, termed “theamentaries”, which promise to greatly expand the project’s reach in and beyond Africa.

In recognition of the tremendous social value of the origin sciences, Leenen co-led the creation of the All from One campaign with Rob Blumenschine in 2015. One of the campaign’s inspirations was the late PAST patron and fellow Witsie Johnny Clegg’s Scatterlings of Africa song, which PAST adopted as its credo in 2011. All from One uses the science of the shared origins of life and the African origins of people everywhere to promote continental pride and dignity, human unity and anti-racism, and the imperative for our survival to conserve Earth’s natural environments and biodiversity. At the time of her passing, Leenen was leading the expansion of All from One into what she anticipated would become a global campaign.

Tributes from colleagues indicate that Leenen was “a beacon of enthusiasm, intelligence and generosity that shined without limit. Her passion for and knowledge of Africa and its prehistoric past earned her the admiration and love of countless people across the continent and beyond.”

Sources: PAST, Wits University

(1976-2022)

ELVIRA SINGH

[MMed 2009]

A respected public health specialist with extensive experience in the fields of cancer and surveillance and cancer epidemiology, Dr Elvira Singh died on 27 February 2022. She was head of the National Cancer Registry and a senior staff member at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

Singh graduated as a medical doctor from the University of KwaZulu-Natal at the end of 2000 and received her master’s degree in community health as well as her fellowship in publichealth from Wits, winning the Henry Gluckman Medal for Best Candidate.

She then joined the National Institute for Occupational Health as a public health specialist in January 2010. Under her leadership, first as acting head in 2013 and officially in 2016, the National Cancer Registry was an active member of the African Cancer Registry Network, which is the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Hub of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (GICR). The National Cancer Registry was nominated as a GICR Collaborating Centre for the region for childhood cancer and record linkage, and Singh was also instrumental in ongoing developments to establish national childhood cancer registration in South Africa, as part of the IARC–St Jude project ChildGICR.

Dr Singh enhanced the pathology-based cancer surveillance system, to implement pilot population-based cancer registration, and to extend this initiative to three other sentinel surveillance sites throughout the country. The Ekurhuleni Population-Based Cancer Registry (EPBCR) is the first urban population-based cancer registry in South Africa. Singh led a team that produced two years of data from the EPBCR, and was in the process of establishing a second population-based cancer registry in KwaZulu-Natal, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

She was also dedicated to collaborating with the cancer registry in research activities. She collaborated with IARC scientists on studies on haematological malignancies and on childhood cancer, as well as pilot activities on how to investigate possible cancer risks inrelation to the contamination from uranium and other harmful substances found in the gold mine tailings in the Johannesburg region. She always insisted that this research went hand in hand with capacity-building, ensuring that early career scientists would participate in and benefit from this work.

In addition to her tremendous work at the NCR, she developed a flourishing research career, being an author or co-author on more than 30 peer-reviewed research publications. She was also a superb teacher at undergraduate and postgraduate level, supervising a number of master’s and PhD candidates.

Dr Singh was ideally placed to advise on the government’s policy and strategic approach towards cancer prevention and control. She contributed significantly to the approved National Cancer Strategic Framework; the policies for breast and cervical cancer; the pending policies on prostate and lung cancer; and the proposed policy on childhood and adolescent cancer.

She is survived by her husband Shailen, her son Mihail, and her mother Roshni Singh.

Source: International Agency for Research on Cancer, Wits University and Daily Maverick

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