Caste, Business, and Industry in a Modern Nation
This was followed later by a ceremony at the General Hospital commemorating his medical career, and at which state of the art equipment was donated and dedicated to the Oncology department in his name. Heime Geffen will be missed by his loving family, colleagues, and wide circle of friends. Born in Ermelo, then Eastern Transv l on 18 June , Goldberg matriculated from Ermelo High before completing his undergraduate and teaching degrees at Wits.
He held teaching posts in Johannesburg and London and was the first male teacher appointed at King David School. He married Musa Katz in and the couple had three children, two of whom are Wits alumni. As executive director of the Board in the eighties, he had the dual challenge of protecting the Jewish community while condemning apartheid.
He retired in A prolific writer, he contributed to several publications and published Portrait of a Community: South African Jewry in After Grant completed Standard 8, he joined the South African Air Force as a fitter and turner, simultaneously pursuing further study and obtaining his matric, a technikon qualification and Wits engineering and applied mathematics degrees by Grant was the founder member and subsequently an honorary member of the engineering section of the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns Academy for Science and Arts and was involved in the establishment of the South African Council for Professional Engineers, serving as a member on the first Council.
He was awarded the State President? Grant retired to his farm in Mpumalanga in the early s but re-emerged in to work on the vortex separation theory, which he developed over five years to suit the separation of silicon isotopes for the electronics industry. Grant is survived by six children, 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She studied further, eventually qualifying as a psychologist. She specialised in treating children who had lost a parent and published extensively in this field. Born in Johannesburg, Todes trained as a dentist at Wits but then emigrated to England in objection to apartheid.
He retrained as a doctor and worked in Boston and at Harvard, where he held a teaching fellowship. He specialised in psychoanalysis and child psychiatry and did pioneering work in the prevention of illness and the promotion of health. In he married Lili Loebl and the couple settled in England. Todes worked with Anna Freud in her late father's practice in Hampstead until when they clashed over the best way to treat severely disturbed children. Diagnosed at age 39, Todes devoted the remainder of his life to the pursuit of a cure.
In addition to medicine, his curative efforts included the controversial transplant of live foetal cells into his brain, the infusion drug concoctions, acupuncture, spirituality and participating in a trial for a miracle cure at the Opus Dei hospital in Spain. The last proved so unsuitable a regime that his wife smuggled him out through the laundry before dawn. Todes is survived by his wife and three children.
He was born 24 March Vosdick Lindo Webb BSc, , former lecturer in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering from to and assistant in the laboratories until , passed away on 23 June , aged Born in Witbank, Webb matriculated with distinction and then made his way to the Big City in search of a job during the Depression years.
He was initially apprenticed as a plumber and tinsmith, but Webb's employer arranged a laboratory assistant position in the Wits Electrical Engineering Department after noticing his passion for all things electrical. His interest in electrical machines together with his exemplary academic record won him a Chamber of Mines scholarship for electrical engineering in Working part-time as a power station attendant and studying in the evenings, Webb graduated as an electrical engineer in Having been unsuccessful in joining active service in the war owing to poor eyesight, he entered the war supplies structure until he was recalled by the University to join Prof.
Goldsmith's secret war projects team. Although Webb never revealed what they were busy with, he regaled his family with tales of how they would stand guard with knobkerries as there were no spare rifles available! With the cessation of hostilities Webb married a Canadian nurse in and then joined Wits as a lecturer in heavy current engineering and machines. Webb was responsible for establishing the Electrical Engineering Department's laboratory facilities to meet the demand for training created by returning ex-servicemen.
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These laboratories were his baby and he remained a central figure in their development and operation until his first nominal retirement in After a short sabbatical, the University recalled Webb to assist with laboratory supervision and external examiner duties. He continued until his failing eyesight finally forced him, after 50 years, to bid farewell to his beloved machines in His empathetic style, dry humour and passion for his subject left lasting impressions on most of his students, together with the memory of his hallmark phrase, Now then gentlemen, let's gather round and talk about this Webb was a devoted family man and handled his sons, nephews and nieces with the same educationally empowering approach he adopted with his students.
He contributed practically to his church and community, based on his life philosophy of when in doubt, do something for somebody. His family recalls some of his last words: It is the duty of engineers to help their fellow man, you know. Webb was an accomplished yet humble man devoted to teaching and the service of others and has left an enduring legacy. Born 6 December , Dische emigrated after graduating to specialise in paediatrics. She married pathologist Dr Frederick Dische in and worked part-time in schools and clinics in south London while raising her family.
She had remarkable success in the treatment of nocturnal enuresis nigh bed-wetting , an area in which she specialised. She was a recognised authority on the use of enuresis alarms and was in demand as a teacher and writer. He was Docrat was born 26 June He joined the office of the Public Protector as chief financial officer in , a post he held at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife, parents and siblings. He was 88 years old. An enthusiastic hiker, he had been enjoying a hike in the Berg over the long weekend in April, , when an unfortunate accident resulted in head injuries.
After many months of hospitalization during which he experienced and rallied from many complications, he had finally started making real progress, when he broke his hip and died of an embolism following an operation. Keith leaves his wife, Joy, two daughters Elizabeth and Claire and grandchildren. Joy and Elizabeth took turns caring for him in his final months.
This illustrates his deep understanding and wealth of knowledge about biochemistry. He was able to explain complex concepts and I very much enjoyed his lectures which were full of insight and peppered with subtle humour. In , he came to South Africa and took up the Professorship of Biochemistry at Wits where he remained after his retirement as Emeritus Professor. During his time there he was an active researcher and prolific publisher. These three papers alone have been cited times between them — quite a start to a career.
1981 in the United Kingdom
His most cited paper was cited times. My estimate is citations in total or an average of He had 4 Nature scientific articles and one opinion piece. To everyone who interacted with him in various capacities, it was obvious that Keith had a very keen analytical mind. He could tease apart data and find new ways to address biochemical investigations and other problems. He often brought fruit and vegetables and seeds from his garden to give to staff and students in the School of Molecular and Cell Biology. On the other hand, he very much enjoyed visits to the Ballet, Opera, and Orchestral concerts, all of which indulged his passion for music.
To this end, he played the cello and sang in The Bach Choir and yet he remained passionate about Biochemistry. He enjoyed writing about the subject and unearthing and understanding the background to biochemical advances and gaining insight on the scientists involved.
He had recently been working on conceptual problems in Biochemistry and would source the earliest editions of papers sometimes requiring assistance from colleagues to translate from German. Keith also enjoyed travelling and architecture and was fascinated by other cultures, and of course continued to enjoy the camaraderie and physicality of hiking.
It took some explaining for him to be released. She was 35 years old.
Born in Klerksdorp, she was the second of three children and the only daughter of Sally and Michael McLaren. She grew up in gold mining communities in Deelkr l and Aggenys and was educated at Potchefstroom High School for Girls, where she was a gifted academic and an Honours Roll student. After matriculating in , McLaren pursued a degree in her first love, junior primary teaching, at Wits in She retired temporarily from teaching to focus on parenting after the birth of her son in During this time she established African Mother, a charity organisation that aimed to raise funds to secure the future of children born to HIV-positive women.
During her treatment, she fulfilled the dream of a fellow young terminal patient by arranging for him to meet his heroes, several Springbok rugby players. McLaren returned to teaching in , just months prior to her untimely death, and wrote a teacher's guide to developing children's self-confidence. A natural and brilliant teacher, a devoted mother and a spirited, intelligent, creative and compassionate individual, she was loved and respected by children and colleagues and made a significant impact on the lives of those she knew.
She is survived by her parents, her brothers, Shane and Brent, and her son, Ethan. He returned to Natal University as a lecturer in the early sixties and came to Wits four years later, where he would spend the remainder of his career. In he married Valda and the couple had two children. Moelwyn-Hughes took sabbatical leave to Stanford, Cambridge and Oxford universities to pursue chemistry research, and later to research staff development methodologies.
He was actively involved in the Staff Association regarding conditions of service and teaching accountability. He established the Staff Development Centre at Wits in the eighties and pioneered many of the teaching and employee procedures that are the mainstay of Wits today. He retired in and emigrated to UK following a pulmonary embolism.
He returned to Johannesburg in and settled in Hermanus in His legacy endures through his children and through the Wits Centre for Learning and Teaching Development. This distinguished alumnus and Wits benefactor held a BSc from the University of Fort Hare, and several honorary doctorates from American and South African universities, including Wits. He was secretary of the ANC Youth League in the forties and, in the fifties, was arrested, twice stood trial with Mandela and was convicted and banned for five years. During this time he graduated, married and worked at Baragwanath and in private practice.
He remained active in civic politics, serving as vice-chair of the Black Parents Association for which he was detained and as leader of the Soweto Committee of Ten. The Committee,formed to run Soweto's affairs after the collapse of the Soweto Urban Bantu Council, was banned by the apartheid government on 19 October ,Black Wednesday. Although released the same year, Motlana was prohibited from attending meetings, refused passage to travel abroad and denied a passport for 31 years. He established a grocery shop and remained active in resistance politics in the eighties, campaigning against the Black Local Authority Elections.
He pursued various business interests, including forming the first black-owned chemicals company, Africhem, establishing a uniform manufacturing company, Phaphama Africa and founding the first privately owned, black hospital in the country, Kwacha - later Lesedi Clinic. Sizwe Medical Aid Scheme was formed concurrently, the first scheme to be owned and operated by blacks.