In Memoriam

1939-2021

Richard Hewish Hunt

[MSc 1984, PhD 1989]

Renowned field entomologist Professor Richard Hewish Hunt passed away on 18 June 2021.

He was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1939 and began his professional career as a technician at the Bilharzia and Malaria Research Laboratory, working on epidemiological field surveys of malaria and schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia – a disease caused by parasitic worms).

Professor Hunt was appointed as honorary professor at the Wits Research Institute for Malaria and the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences at Wits from 1998, and was a consultant to the Vector Control Reference Laboratory, National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the National Health Laboratory Service, for the rest of his career.

He was deeply committed to his work as a disease vector biologist, geneticist and public health professional, and dedicated more than 60 years of his life to research and policy-making in this field. This extraordinary contribution includes his pioneering work in mosquito taxonomy using cytogenetic and enzyme electrophoresis methods, and he was a major contributor to the body of work that unraveled the taxonomic conundrum of the Anopheles gambiae species complex and the An. funestus species group, both of which contain major malaria vectors (and non-vectors), of the sub-Saharan African region. This work provided the foundation for later PCRbased methods of species identification in these taxa, which now underpin malaria vector operational research and control interventions in Africa.

As an extraordinary field entomologist, he spent countless hours collecting Anopheles mosquitoes from many of Africa’s most remote regions. During his career he visited most African countries at least once, and developed a particularly keen ability to find Anopheles mosquitoes using deep experience and insight. This enabled the gathering of critical surveillance information for many malaria vector control programmes, both governmental and commercial.

Professor Hunt was also a pioneer in the establishment of Anopheles mosquito laboratory colonies from wild-collected material. This is a particularly refined and laborious process that involves tireless field work followed by long hours in the insectary, and requires deep insight into mosquito ecology and behaviour.

Many of these studies have in turn provided critical information for malaria vector control, and have enabled the tabling of control policies based on sound evidence. An important feature of these studies has and continues to be the characterisation of insecticide resistance mechanisms in vector species, and he contributed to many of these.

Professor Hunt will be fondly remembered for his deep insight, energy, enthusiasm, innovative ideas, attention to detail, dedication to his work and to his insistence on excellence.

Sources: Prof Lizette Koekemoer, Wits Research Institute For Malaria

1961-2021

Robert Collins

[BCom 1985, HDip TaxLaw 1989, HDip CoLaw 1991]

Former chief operating officer of Sun International and managing director of Tsogo Sun Robert Collins died from complications as a result of COVID-19 on 30 June 2021.

He was born and educated in Johannesburg and after graduating from Wits in 1985, he had a stint in the Navy, but was transferred to Johannesburg as the legal advisor for Inland Revenue for four years. Thereafter he joined Deloitte where he practised as a tax lawyer, and held the position of associate director.

In 1991, Collins changed careers and moved into the entertainment, leisure and lifestyle sector as the group tax and legal advisor for Interleisure Pty Ltd. He then joined Ster Kinekor as chief executive officer in 1993 where he also served as Chairman of Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox and Columbia in Africa, sitting on their World Wide Strategic Committees.

In 2000 he took up the challenge of joining MGM Grand SA, one of South Africa’s largest black empowerment companies, as chief executive officer, and was later managing director of Tsogo Sun Gaming. He spent 14 years with Tsogo Sun before moving to Sun International in 2014 and served as Group Chief Strategy and Operations Officer until his early retirement in July 2019.

Collins also served as a trustee on the Apartheid Museum Board and was trustee on the South African Hall of Fame Board and a trustee on the Marketing Achievements Council.

Source: Gaming for Africa

1937-2021

John Crawford

[BSc 1959]

Well-known and respected physics lecturer John Crawford died in his home on 17 June 2021, just short of his 84th birthday. Described as “an institution” who dedicated himself to first year auxiliary physics, he taught generations of students from the Health Sciences Faculty: medics, dentists, physiotherapists, nurses, occupational therapists and pharmacists. Many benefited from his guidance, delivered in a calm, patient and influential manner even after his official retirement.

He succumbed to the cancer which manifested almost 10 years ago.

Crawford matriculated first in class in 1954 from St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown. His teaching career followed in the footsteps of his grandfather Professor Lawrence Crawford, born in Glasgow and educated there and at Cambridge, who came to South Africa as professor of mathematics.

Crawford joined the Wits staff complement as a graduate assistant in March 1959 until 1965 and he was offered a temporary lecturer position until 1967. According to the Physics Department, Crawford had compiled over 6 000 first year tutorial and laboratory-based questions and solutions on a main frame computer which have since been converted to an editable version for usage by academics in the School of Physics.

During the 1970s there were a lack of suitable textbooks and Crawford adapted physics materials for health and biological science courses. His passion for teaching was evident as he was awarded a gold medal for his outstanding service to the Faculty of Health Sciences at their 75th Anniversary in 1997. He was also nominated for the Phillip V Tobias Distinguished Teaching Award in 1995. He also acted as a moderator for the Matriculation Examination Board for physical sciences. Early in his career, he enjoyed sabbatical leave at prestigious universities including the University of Virginia, where he worked with NASA technical monitors, the University of North Carolina in Charlotte and at Cologne University in Germany. During his time at Wits he served on undergraduate committees of the Faculty of Health Sciences and was a member of the Physics Faculty Board.

Crawford lived in Parkwood and commuted to Wits by bus. He was a familiar sight on the route to Rosebank. He was a great book lover and a long-term member of the Friends of the Rosebank Library. He served on the committee from its formation until his death, regularly participating as volunteer, salesperson and customer. He was an avid birdwatcher and loved wildlife, spending many holidays camping in Mozambique, in the Kruger National Park, or walking in national parks around Cape Town.

He played a huge role as a beloved uncle to the children and grandchildren of his sister, Ann Myles.

Sources: Wits School of Physics, Wits Faculty of Health Sciences, colleagues and family

1929-2021

Beorn Cloete Uys

[MBBCh 1952]

Dr Beorn Cloete Uys was born in Amersfoort at the start of the Great Depression. His father, Adriaan Uys, was a paediatrician who trained in Holland and his mother, Edna, was an educator.

He matriculated with distinction in 1946 at Parktown Boys’ High, earned his medical degree in 1952 and was awarded the Abelheim Prize for obstetrics, as well as the Horace Wells Medal in anaesthetics. During the holidays, Dr Uys spent time learning nursing skills at Addington Hospital. This was an experience that shaped him to value nursing and nurses. He completed postgraduate training at Johannesburg General, Baragwanath, Queen Victoria and Edenvale hospitals.

In 1955, Dr Uys left for England with his new bride Midge, a midwife. He spent three years at St Mary’s in Manchester, and in the Canterbury and Isle of Thanet Group in Kent. He gained his MRCOG in 1958, and completed his training at King Edward VIII Hospital in Durban. He entered private practice in 1961 with Dela de la Hunt, and was joined later by Louis Coetzee. In1968, while working at Marymount Maternity Home, Dr Uys was approached to build a new maternity home. This subsequently gave birth to the construction of the Sandton Clinic in 1975.

After 25 years of practising in Johannesburg, he semiretired to East London, heading up the maternity unit at Frere Hospital, and was appointed honorary senior lecturer.

He was a committed member of the South African Medical Association since 1959, serving as branch councillor in Border Coastal branch for 14 years, and branch president in 1993. He was described as “a humble man of science and history, a teacher, a philosopher and a dedicated husband and father”.

He is survived by his wife and four children, Amanda, Chris, Gus and Sue, and five grandchildren.

Source: SAMJ

1934-2021

Ernst Sonnendecker

[MBBCh 1956]

Clinician, researcher and outstanding surgeon Professor Ernst Sonnendecker died on 17 January 2021.

Born on 4 June 1934 in Piet Retief, he was the only child of German immigrants. He started his studies at Wits at the age of 16. Following his undergraduate years at Wits he enrolled for three years as a registrar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Pretoria, obtained his specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist registration, wrote his MRCOG examination, and was awarded the MRCOG Part 2 Gold Medal for being the candidate with the highest marks irrespective of country of origin from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London.

Following further training, including radical surgery for malignancy by Sir John Stallworthy at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, England, a bursary from the South African Atomic Energy Board took him to the Argon Cancer Research Hospital, University of Chicago, to study the use of radioisotopes. On his return he was appointed as a senior lecturer in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Pretoria at the then HF Verwoerd Hospital and went into private practice with Frans Neser for a number of years. In 1978 when the new Johannesburg Hospital in Parktown opened its doors, he returned to his alma mater as a senior lecturer and principal specialist. In 1979 he was admitted to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists [FRCOG] and in 1987, by election, to the International College of Surgeons [FICS] in Chicago. He was promoted to associate professor in 1983. He held the position of professor and academic head in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Wits at his statutory retirement in 1999.

His “Herman Hermits” 60s hair-cut, his bow tie, his two-tone shoes and his pinstriped suits became his distinguishing feature. He had an amazing memory, outstanding knowledge, loved quoting, telling anecdotal stories and emphasizing the minutest detail whether pertaining to obstetrics or gynaecology.

He made an immense contribution to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, to the literature pertaining to managing women with ovarian cancer as well as his contribution to its surgical strategies. His Germanic upbringing made him meticulous, pedantic, thorough and a stickler for detail.

Professor Sonnendecker had numerous journal publications and chapters in textbooks to his credit. He established a South African Menopause Society steering committee and was elected as its founding president in 1988 and later admitted as an honorary life member. In 2014, he was awarded a “Fellow Ad Eundum” by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa for the significant contribution he made during his career to women’s health.

He leaves his wife Cynthia, son Hein, Brigitte, his daughter, his extended family and grandchildren.

Sources: Franco Guidozzi and Trudy Smith, South African Menopause Society and CMSA

1944-2021

Brian Goodall

[BA 1966]

Brian Goodall, chair of the Lewis Foundation, and former leader of the opposition in the Gauteng legislature passed away at the age of 78 on 27 June 2021.

Goodall was born on 27 March 1944. He matriculated from Jeppe High School for Boys with a first-class pass. His leadership skills were already apparent as head prefect, captain of the rowing, house athletics and cricket teams and recipient of a basket of leadership and academic prizes. He attended three universities, graduating with a BA from the University of Natal, a first-class Honours from Wits and an MA from the University of South Africa.

Goodall joined Standard Bank in 1966, moved from there to ESE Financial Services and in 1970, he and two colleagues formed their own economics and financial consultancy company. Five years later they sold out to join Syfrets Trust.

His charm and people skills, combined with an intense aversion to the apartheid regime, resulted in him winning the Edenvale Parliamentary seat for the Progressive Federal Party in 1979. He resigned from Syfrets to pursue a full-time political career and held the seat till 1987. He retook the seat in 1989 and held it until he was elected to the provincial parliament of Gauteng as Leader of the DA Caucus and spokesperson on economic affairs.

He loved wildlife and in 2002 he joined the Lewis Foundation as a Trustee and took the helm as chair in 2010.

He is survived by his wife and their three children and grandchildren.

Source: Lewis Foundation

1941-2021

Baldwin Ngubane

[DPH 1982, DHSM 1983]

Dr Baldwin "Ben" Ngubane was born on 22 October 1941 at the Inchanga Roman Catholic Mission at Camperdown in KwaZulu-Natal. He matriculated at St Francis College mission school in Mariannhill, outside Durban, and taught Latin there for two years before graduating as a doctor at the University of Natal Medical School in Durban in 1971.

He was active in student politics and became vice-president of the National Union of South African Students (Nusas), working with Steve Biko, who was active in Nusas at the time. He subsequently obtained diplomas in Public Health in 1982 and Public Health Services Management in 1983 from Wits. He furthermore received a master’s degree of Family Medicine (M Prax Med) from Natal Medical School in 1986 and received a postgraduate diploma in economics from the University of London in 2003.

While practising as a doctor he joined the Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement and in 1977 became a member of its central committee. In 1978 he was elected to represent the Enseleni district in the KwaZulu- Natal legislative assembly.

He was active in the South African Red Cross from 1977 and represented it at international congresses in the 1980s. He was praised for his role during the devastating KwaZulu-Natal floods and received a citation from the Red Cross. He played a key role in helping to bring peace between warring factions of the IFP and ANC in the early 1990s.

In 1991 Dr Ngubane was appointed Minister of Health in the KwaZulu government, a post he held until 1994. Between 1997 and 1999, he was elected as premier of KwaZulu-Natal, and from 1999 to 2004, the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology of the KwaZulu-Natal government. In 2004 he was appointed ambassador to Japan until 2008.

He resigned as nonexecutive director and chair of Eskom on 12 June 2017.

In 2020 he was twice called to testify before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry in his capacities as former SABC board chairperson and as the former chairman of Eskom.

Dr Ngubane died at the age of 79 on 12 July 2021 due to COVID-19 complications. He is survived by his wife Sheila and their children and grandchildren.

Sources: Sunday Times and Wikipedia

1950-2021

Louis Jeevanantham

[BEd 1983, MEd 1986]

Star footballer turned university lecturer Louis Jeevanantham, affectionately known as “Lightning Lou”, died at the age of 71 on 28 June 2021.

In the 1960s, when communities of colour were uprooted by apartheid’s 1950s Group Areas Act, the story of Bluebells United FC, of which Jeevanantham was a star player, was central to nonracial sports history. Jeevanantham’s talent was noticed by Maritzburg City owner-manager Moses Ally at the age of 18. As a goal-scoring midfielder, he is remembered for his swift and striking brand of football and played alongside legends such as Bomber Chamane, Baldwin “Groovin” Malope, Jerry Sadike, Johannes “Big Boy” Kholoane, Allen Moonsamy, Meschack Nkosi, and Goona Padiaychie.

He went on to make impressive strides from a local teacher to an education professor. Later, as a technical coach in South Africa, he worked alongside Ted Dumitru, former Bafana Bafana football manager, on research studies, technical development and designing specific football training and coaching content. “He was a skillful and intelligent player before going into academia and retiring as a professor at the University of South Africa. He believed that a coaching programme had to be devised, developed and implemented with the South African experience. He conceptualised and designed a prototype of coaching modern football,” said Greg Mashilo, president of SA Football Coaches Association.

“He was a passionate believer in the natural attributes and strengths of African players, and in a possession based, positive entertaining style of play. He also advocated for the local South African specificity to be reflected at all levels of players’ development, in professional clubs and national teams as a unique trend in football.”

Source: Rising Sun

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