IZINDABA

Obituary

Ian Wark Simson (1 July 1930 - 25 May 2017)

Prof. Ian Simson passed away unexpectedly on 25 May 2017 at his home in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, at the age of 86 years.

Ian was born in Johannesburg on 1 July 1930. After matriculating at Hilton College, Natal, in 1947, he returned to Johannesburg to study at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he obtained the MB BCh degree in 1953 followed by an MD in 1961. Later he was also awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathology (London).

Ian did his clinical training as intern and senior houseman at Baragwanath, Johannesburg and Coronation hospitals. Following in his father's footsteps, he started his career as a junior pathologist at the South African Institute for Medical Research. In 1958 he moved to the University of Pretoria, where he spent his professional career as a pathologist in the Institute of Pathology until his retirement. When the head of the Department of Anatomical Pathology, Prof. James Barnetson, retired in 1970, Ian was appointed as head, a position that he held with distinction for the next 25 years.

Ian was a dedicated pathologist who served the profession in many ways. He was an excellent diagnostic pathologist and teacher and a renowned researcher, and served many committees, registries and societies. He was president of the South African Society of Pathologists, president of the South African Division of the International Academy of Pathology, chairman of the National Cancer Registry and chairman of the Asbestos Tumour Reference Panel, to mention just a few.

As a teacher, Ian will be remembered for his excellent and inspiring lectures and his strict but fair evaluation of candidates in exams. An extraordinary observer and legendary morphologist, he was respected for his clinical insights and his correlation of clinical and pathological findings. He had an extremely wide interest in all aspects of pathology, but a very special interest in liver pathology. This was reflected in several chapters that he wrote in well-known books on liver pathology, and also in books on tropical pathology. He had at least 72 publications to his credit, but will be remembered best for those in the field of liver pathology.

Ian was a keen golfer and photographer, and loved fly fishing. He is survived by his wife Pam, children Michael, Peter and Fiona, and eight grandchildren.

His legacy will live on among his students, colleagues and friends.

Leonora Dreyer

Emeritus professor and former head, Department of Anatomical Pathology, University of Pretoria, South Africa leonora.dreyer@gmail.com