VN September 2020

Vetnuus | September 2020 22 The couple had a policy that their home would be based on the needs of Jim’s work. However, this choice of residence would revert to Pat on his retirement. Hence, it is no surprise that their final home was in Cape Town. From January 1956 to July 1958 Jim was an assistant at the private veterinary practice owned by Dr Basil H. Pappin. Wider horizons called, and in August 1958 he joined the Federal (later Rhodesian) Veterinary Service in what is now Zimbabwe, where the family was to spend the next 22 years. In these years, he had extensive experience in handling foot and mouth disease control. In 1976, having attained the rank of Assistant Director, he left the Veterinary Service to join the Cold Storage Commission from 1976 to 1980. Here he served as Technical Director and Deputy General Manager. This position involved interesting travel, mainly to Europe, usually accompanied by Pat. Jim enjoyed studying, and in 1965 he obtained, cum laude , the Diploma in Veterinary Public Health from the University of Pretoria, followed, in 1979, by the Master of Veterinary Medicine (Food Hygiene) (University of Pretoria). In November 1980 he and Pat returned to South Africa and Jim took up an appointment as senior lecturer in Meat Hygiene at the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort, a position he held until March 1982. Puttinghis knowledge andmanagerial skills intopractice in the food industry beckoned, and fromApril 1982 until February 1989 he held various managerial positions in the poultry industry, which left him reluctant to eat chicken if there was any alternative on the menu. This was certainly not due to doubts about hygiene but rather because he had become thoroughly tired of it. His appointment as Chief Veterinarian at the Meat Board in April 1989 placed him in charge of the National Pig Health Scheme, with a welcome change from poultry to pigs. He soon developed a passion for pigs and pig farmers, particularly the small-scale and emerging farmers, and remained involved in pigs, with a particular interest in their welfare, for the rest of his life. At the demise of the National Pig Health Scheme in February 1996 Jim returned to the academic world, first as senior lecturer in Herd Health (Pigs) at MEDUNSA until the amalgamation of the MEDUNSA veterinary faculty with the that of the University of Pretoria, where he served in the same capacity until his retirement in 2000. He was fondly remembered by a MEDUNSA student who told me he was very kind, and field outings with him to pig farms were always enjoyedby the students, inparticular because afterwards he bought them all cold drinks and something to eat, and as most of them had very little money to spare it was enormously appreciated. During this period in academia he attended a number of International Pig Veterinary Society congresses, accompanied by Pat, who enjoyed the wives’ programmes and was particularly enthusiastic about a garden tour in Melbourne, Australia, in 2000. Retirement for Jim was never going to mean stopping work! In his capacity as a private consultant he provided services to commercial pig farmers as well as being consultant to the Department of Correctional Services for piggery health and staff training. However, his main focus was on providing technical support for emerging pig farmers, both as organiser in the Western Cape for SAPPO’s initiative for upliftment for emerging farmers and by developing and delivering a CPD-approved 4-day ‘train the trainers’ course for veterinarians, animal health technicians and extension officers. These were most enjoyable experiences that included a visit to a pig farm. Jim was a member of the SAPPO Pig Health Committee until 2008 and was instrumental in organising serological and residue surveys. He served as a guest lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch on pig production and diseases. He was a founder member and served on the Executive Committee of the Pig Veterinary Society for 15 years, with three terms as President. In 2010 during a 6-week FAO expert consultancy on control and prevention of African swine fever in Mauritius it was fortunate that Jim was appointed to join Mary-Lou for the two-week training course for Mauritian veterinarians, animal health technicians, extension officers and selected ‘senior’ pig farmers, who would be doing farmer-to-farmer extension. Jim was an invaluable addition to the consultancy, going the second mile to get additional information about the pig sector in Mauritius and enlivening the training sessions with his good humour and genuine interest in the people and the topic, adding considerable value in his reports and recommendations. Jim’s services were recognised when he received the South African Veterinary Association Soga Medal for exceptional community service by a veterinarian in 2016 and, in 2019, the ‘exemplary industry award for pig veterinary science and support’ at the centenary of the South African Pig Breeders Society. Jim was determined not to stop working until he had given 60 years’ service as a veterinarian. In fact, he carried on for a few years after that, slowing down and handing over some activities only when he lost most of the sight in one eye. Commencing in 1996, he continued to write monthly articles for Porcus and was busy with one the last time I spoke to him, two months before he tragically succumbed to COVID-19. In spite of his busy working life, Jim always found time for additional community service; he and Pat actively served Rotary International for 22 years, with Jim serving on several committees, with a special focus on youth and international exchange. Jim was president of Sandton Rotary in 1991-1992 and received the Rotary International Paul Harris Award for‘outstanding service in the promotionof Rotary ideals. He and Pat were also active in the management committees of their retirement home in Cape Town and did much to improve the quality of life of residents by, for instance, introducing weekly film shows. Jim and Pat passed away within days of each other, Pat on 25 July and Jim on 4 August, victims of the pandemic, shortly after celebrating Pat’s 86th and Jim’s 87th birthdays in July. They leave behind a son Christopher and two daughters, Cindy and Shari, five grandchildren (Ben, Ruth, Joe, Sarah, Joshua) and four great grandchildren (Dominic, Delilah, Lily, James), all of whom were a very precious part of their long (almost 64 years) and happy life together. Jim’s lifelong contribution to the veterinary profession and his friendship to both colleagues and ex-students alike will long be remembered. Rest in peace, Jim and Pat. v Mary-Louise Penrith and Tom Spencer In Memoriam: Dr Jim Robinson