Terrible news about Virginia Noel ... RIP.

Dear Colleagues,

 

It is with sadness that I have to report the death of our beloved and brilliant colleague Virginia Noel (née Ewing) in July of this year.  My understanding is that she had long been suffering a painful and debilitating back complaint and she opted to travel to Switzerland with members of her family to end her life. 

 

We will always remember her enthusiasm for life at university, her amazing intellect, those early days when she and Gary Sturdy sat in the front row ... Gary, often wearing black leather with sideburns and Virginia bursting forth and smiling and challenging our professors ... and almost speaking too fast as her brain sorted principles at lightning speed. 

 

We offer condolences to her family and friends.  As in life, her death and its sorrowful circumstances challenges us all.  Virginia will be remembered and toasted at our 40th Year Reunion dinner in January where she will be sadly missed, along with our other fallen colleagues, Kathy Berthon-Jones, Cathy Campbell, Vicki Dawbarn (Degotardi), Mick Donoghue, Bevan Eastwood, Tricia Pendergast (Rohl), Jim Poulos, Mark Robertson, Cliff Sterling, Jane Talbot, Greg Trevaskis and Geoffrey Whyte. 

 

From Andrew Byrne ..