IZINDARA
OBITUARY

 

Leon John David (1928 - 2022)

 

 

 

Leon John David was born on 2 March 1928, the only child of a Lebanese watchmaker and a Jewish mother. He spent his childhood living in Troyeville, Johannesburg.

He attended Jeppe Boys High School and matriculated in 1947. He enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and started his medical degree in 1948.

Leon qualified as a medical doctor in 1954 and did his housemanship at King Edward VII Hospital in Durban, and then another 6 months at Edenvale Hospital in Gauteng. He went to Douglas in the Northern Cape, where he worked with his uncle, the district surgeon, for 18 months. Upon his return, he worked at the South African Institute for Medical Research in Johannesburg, until he decided it was time to spread his wings and get some experience overseas. His next ports of call were London, Edinburgh and Newport, Rhode Island, in the USA. He worked as the casualty officer in all these cities, much to his amusement in later life. After 3 years he headed for Johannesburg again, where he did locums, and in 1962 he married Annamarie (Ami) Mica. He then joined a practice in Orange Grove. Leon and Ami had three sons, Andrew and twins Paul and Richard. In 1963 he decided to specialise in radiology and qualified as a radiologist in 1967 from Wits. He was one of the first group of radiologists to qualify in South Africa (SA) with an MMed. Prior to 1967, this qualification had not been available in SA.

With his new qualification, he decided to join the radiological practice of Dr Arnold Gould et al. At that time and for many years to come, it was the only radiology practice on the East Rand. This practice also provided a service to the state hospitals in the area. Leon worked mainly in the Brakpan practice and Far East Rand Hospital and made his home in Benoni.

He retired in 1999, and for the next 2 years became a full-time radiologist at the Far East Rand Hospital,

Leon had many hobbies. He loved art, was an avid reader, collected stamps, dabbled in the stock exchange, and enjoyed photography, working on his computer, belonging to the local Military History Society and the Probus group, which was for retired business and professional people, and in the 1970s was a member of Harry's Angels - a group of specialists who flew to Swaziland on a rotational basis and helped to medically treat the sick over weekends.

He and Ami sold their house in Benoni and went to the Alan Woodrow Retirement Village in Brakpan. Not long after, Ami became terminally ill, and he looked after her for the next 5 years. When this became too much for him, he and she decided it was time for her to go to frail care.

Ami passed away in 2013. Hereafter, Leon was invited by a radiographer friend and her sister to make his home with them once again in Benoni. This turned out to be a very good arrangement for him as he was soon part of the family. Here he spent the last years of his life living happily and in contentment.

Leon was a keen lover of photography, watching any sport on television, and using his computer and anything new that he could learn about.

Sadly, his life came to an untimely end on 23 August 2022, after a fall resulting in a fractured hip, so he had to have a hip replacement. The operation went well, but 10 days later he suffered a pulmonary embolus and passed away. He was 94 years old and lived every day to the full.

I would like to end by saying that in the 52 years I knew Leon, he was always a humble person, a thorough gentleman, a fervent seeker of knowledge and a passionate radiologist.

He will be sadly missed by Carole and Margaret.

Ms Carole Francis

Previous head of Radiography, Far East Rand Hospital

Assisted by

Dr Ashesh I Ranchod

Radiologist in private practice, National Radiology Services Incorporated (NRS Inc.), Johannesburg, South Africa drairanchod@nrsmail.co.za