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Obituaries
Soromini Kallichurum
A South African medical icon and a fearless protector of students during apartheid
Professor Soromini Kallichurum was a role
model to a generation of South African stu-
dents and academics. A pioneering woman,
she broke down barriers to succeed in a
world that had long been considered a male
stronghold and went on to become the first
woman and the first non-white person to be
appointed dean of the faculty of medicine at
the University of Natal. She was also an
internationally respected pathologist and an
authority on lung diseases in the black
population.
Mini, as she was affectionately known,
maintained that she had not wanted to study
medicine but had been forced to do so by her
father. And so in 1950 she became one of the
first 12 undergraduates to enrol at the
non-white section of the University of Natal.
Her classmates claimed that she did not study
much. Nevertheless she passed her exams
effortlessly, was awarded a doctorate for her
research into cor pulmonale arising from
lung diseases in the black population, and
went on to pursue a career in anatomical
pathology.
In the 1970s, disillusioned by academic
medicine and a salary structure that
discriminated against non-white academic
staff, she entered private practice as a
specialist pathologist. But in 1978 she was
invited to apply for the chair of anatomical
pathology at the University of Natal. Despite
by now having established a lucrative
private practice, she accepted the post,
becoming the first non-white medical
professor in South Africa. From 1984 to
1986, she was also part time dean of the
medical faculty.
The history of the medical school in the
apartheid 1980s was one of turmoil. A
discontented student body frequently boy-
cotted classes over various grievances, such
as discriminatory practices in medicine.
Also, the university’s governing body had
treated the medical school since its incep-
tion as a “Cinderella” faculty and the senate
and council were not interested in the diffi-
culties that staff and students had to face in
working in appalling conditions. Perhaps
one of Mini’s greatest attributes was her
negotiating ability, and she used this to full
effect during this difficult time, liaising with
medical students, staff, and the university
governing body. She became known for her
fearless protection of students when the
university authorities or the security serv-
ices cracked down. Students also nick-
named her “the granite woman” because
her approach to problems was at times
unemotional.
Mini was an icon in the medical school.
She was a strict disciplinarian who
demanded high ethical standards, but she
was also a role model to all academics,
particularly to women, who had to work in
an environment that was full of discrimina-
tion. She retired as professor of anatomical
pathology in 1994.
From 1994 to 1997, she was president of
the Interim Medical and Dental Council of
South Africa and then, from 1998 to 2002,
of the transformed body, the Health Profes-
sions Council of South Africa. She was
highly motivated in approaching the impor-
tant task of transforming the previously
white oriented South African Medical and
Dental Council into a Health Professions
Council that is representative of the demo-
graphy of the country and of all the
disciplines of health care.
Predeceased by her husband Karoon
Rughubar, she leaves three daughters and
her grandchildren. [Y K Seedat]
Soromini Kallichurum, former professor of
anatomical pathology University of Natal,
South Africa (b Ladysmith 1932; q University
of Natal 1957; MD), d 21 December 2002.
Rupert Jackson
Locum consultant in emergency medicine
Manchester Royal Infirmary (b 1968;
q Manchester 1992), died by his own hand on
7 October 2002.
Rupert Jackson was a house officer at
Bolton General Hospital. After senior
house officer posts at Bolton Royal Infir-
mary, he was a registrar on the northwest
emergency medicine rotation and also
undertook 12 months of additional training
in intensive care. His areas of special exper-
tise were resuscitation, intensive care, pain
relief, and sedation. Rupert loved the
countryside of the north of England and
often went walking on the moors with his
two dogs. His other interests included
classic cars, cooking, and his home and
family. He leaves a wife, Sue, and two
daughters. [Chris Moulton]
Koloman Kropach
Former general practitioner, London (b Witzniz,
Austria, 1912; q Vienna 1937), d 7 November
2002.
Koloman Kropach, known as Karl, left
Austria just before Hitler invaded in August
1938, intending to join his brother in Iraq. His
adventurous journey took a month. He learnt
Arabic and worked for a drug company
before he was deported to Palestine in 1941.
450 BMJ VOLUME 326 22 FEBRUARY 2003 bmj.com
British intelligence evacuated him on to a
troop ship to a camp where his skills were
used treating enteritis, malaria, and meningi-
tis. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps
in 1943 and served for five years in Somalia.
He was a registrar at Paddington Hospital,
London, before entering general practice. He
enjoyed travel and died suddenly on holiday
in Tenerife. He leaves a wife, Delia; two
children; and six grandchildren. [Jeanne
Rathbone]
Alasdair Burnett Matheson
Consultant in emergency medicine Aberdeen
1977-2000 (b Aberdeen 1940; q Aberdeen
1964; OBE, FRCS Ed, FFAEM),
d 13 December 2002.
Alasdair trained in Aberdeen, Newcastle
upon Tyne, and Carlisle before taking up his
consultant post at Aberdeen. In his early
days, in addition to normal clinical duties, he
was frequently winched down to the decks of
vessels at sea to assess the medical status of
crew members. He developed into his role of
senior consultant within the unit and he
took an active role in major civil accident
planning, even before the presence of North
Sea oil rigs. Always active in medical politics,
he became chairman of the Scottish
Committee for Hospital Medical Services,
and was a member of various other commit-
tees. He leaves a wife, Moira. [Leslie
Moffat]
Isobel Jean McLarty
Former senior medical officer Worcester (b 1915;
q Edinburgh 1939), died from ovarian cancer
on 12 August 2002.
After working in the Sick Children’s
Hospital in Edinburgh, she was in general
practice with her father for several years
during the second world war. She then went
into public health medicine, which took her
to Newcastle upon Tyne and Sheffield as
assistant school medical officer. Her final
appointment was as senior medical officer
for child health in Worcester. On retirement
she returned to Edinburgh, where she
worked for the Royal Society for Home
Relief to Incurables. She played golf
enthusiastically and was a member of several
clubs. [G M Lowdon]
Thomas Ariba Ogada
Former dean University of Nairobi faculty of
medicine and Kenyan ambassador to United
Nations agencies,Geneva (b Kisumu, Kenya,
1936; q Makerere University, Kampala, 1963;
FRCP, FRCP Ed), was killed in a car crash in
March 2002.
Tom Ogada had a major influence on the
development of medical services and educa-
tion in Kenya. After training in Nairobi and
London, he was lecturer, senior lecturer, and
later professor of medicine and dean of the
faculty of medicine at the University of
Nairobi. In 1989 he was appointed ambassa-
dor and permanent representative of Kenya
and accredited to World Health Organiza-
tion and United Nations agencies based in
Geneva. He then became regional adviser to
the World Health Organization at its office
in Brazzaville until 1998, when he returned
to Kenya. At the time of his death he was
medical director of the Aga Khan Hospital
in Nairobi. He leaves a wife, Margaret, and
five children. [Krishna Somers]
John Jackson Pollock
Former general practitioner Heckmondwyke
(b Glasgow 1925; q Glasgow 1948),
d 20 November 2002.
Known to friends, colleagues, and patients as
Ian Pollock, he was always called Joe by
those who went through medical school
with him. After serving with the Royal Army
Medical Corps in Malaya, Joe settled into
general practice in Yorkshire in 1951. He
became a keen golfer, and outside his
practice his main interests were golf and his
holiday home in Arran. He leaves a wife,
Anne, and four children. [Alexander
Munn]
Desmond Smith
Consultant radiologist Salisbury Hospitals
1964-86 (b County Roscommon, Ireland, 1921;
q Edinburgh 1947; MRCP, DMRD,FRCR),
d 15 October.
After qualifying, Desmond set out to become
a physician specialising in chest medicine. But
in the late 1950s he decided to become a
radiologist, and trained at St Thomas’s
Hospital, London. He had a beautiful garden,
which was opened annually to the public. He
was also a first class tennis and squash player
and went on playing vigorously into old age.
After retirement from Salisbury Hospitals,
Desmond continued to do sessional work in
various hospitals in the region for a further
five years. He leaves a wife and two
stepdaughters. [PMSGillam]
Mary Marguerite
(“Peggy”) Szekely
(née Lynch)
Former public health doctor Newcastle upon
Tyne (b Cork 1916;q Cork 1939; DRCOG,
DPH), d 6 October 2002.
Peggy worked in Mexborough during the
Blitz, moving to Newcastle General
Hospital to work in obstetrics. It was there
that she met her future husband, cardiolo-
gist Paul Szekely (obituary BMJ 1986;
292:67), who had escaped from France
when the Nazis invaded, taking the last boat
out of Bordeaux. She moved to south Lon-
don, and worked in Battersea and Croydon,
during which time she married. Returning
to Newcastle at the end of the war, she did
child welfare clinics until her retirement
in 1981. She moved to the west of Ireland
15 years after her husband’s death to live
with her sister. [Irene Murray]
Longer versions of these obituaries are
available on bmj.com
Obituaries
451BMJ VOLUME 326 22 FEBRUARY 2003 bmj.com