Appreciations
View(s):We have lost a wonderful friend
LLOYD FERNANDO
We are profoundly saddened by the passing away of our good friend Lloyd. He peacefully clasped the blessed hands of almighty God, at the age of 64 on Saturday, May 18, 2019. We had known that he had been very ill, but we thought he would make a good recovery. So, the news of his passing came as a tremendous shock. While we grieve for his passing away, we must also rejoice for the life of an extraordinary person who had an extraordinary life with a loving wife, daughter, and son-in-law.
I first met Lloyd in 1980 whilst he came as a new appointment to the Operational Division of the 1981 Census of Population and Housing at the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). We worked together for about two years and it was enough to witness his capabilities. He did his job conscientiously and in a responsible manner, working right through the day. He was not interested in making money and was only content in doing a good job. That was his reward.
After three years, in 1983 he left the government service and joined the private sector – the Ceylon Tobacco Company and thereafter Keells Food Products PLC. DCS is where he met Priyanthi and after leaving the department in 1984 they were happily married. Occasionally we met in our office and we continued our friendship. After we retired, we used to meet at our pensioners’ get-togethers and annual trips. The last trip was in last November at Tangalle.
Lloyd was lucky to have had Priyanthi as his wife, for behind the success of Lloyd there was Priyanthi. She was there for him all the way for nearly 35 years of married life, supporting him in all his endeavours. His only daughter always rallied around him. Lloyd not only had a successful professional life but also had a happy family life. Lloyd was always very jovial and his good moods were infectious. He was such good company.
With Lloyd’s death, one whole chapter of our life ended. Life will never be the same again. All of us have lost a wonderful friend. To Priyanthi, his devoted wife and daughter Sachi, the shock of losing Lloyd at the age of 64 is something they never expected. All his relatives and friends will no doubt miss him. Wherever you are I know it is a good place as you lived such a good life and expended your talents for the benefit of others. Thank you, Lloyd, for the memories you have left and for the good times we have shared.
Goodbye Lloyd, our lovely friend. May you be at peace.
Goonatilleke
A legend in the field of Anaesthesiology, friend and colleague
Dr. Thistle Jayawardena
My dear friend and colleague was only six months younger to me, although he passed out from Medical College four years after me. I first came to know him when he was in the final year in 1955, undergoing his training in obstetrics and gynaecology in the Prof. Unit where I was a tutor in obstetrics at that time.
The next time we met was in 1961 when I was the RO at the De Soysa maternity hospital, during which time I was going to the newly opened Maharagama Cancer Hospital to conduct clinics twice a week and had two operating sessions to insert radium needles for the cancers of the cervix – the most prevalent cancer in women at that time. I had a very keen house-officer, Dr. Masakorale and a keen anaesthetist, Dr. Thistle Jayawardena who were bored of inserting radium and wanted me to do radical Wertheim’s operations at Maharagama.
As there was no blood transfusion service available at Maharagama, Dr. Masakorale arranged to get the blood from Colombo and I did a large number of cancer operations, for the first time, in Maharagama.
The next time I met Dr. Thistle was in Badulla in 1964, when he was appointed as Consultant Anaesthetist to Badulla Hospital, on his return after qualifying in UK. I had the privilege of delivering his third child at the Badulla hospital and I named her ‘Lakmini’.
However, he was with us only for one year and was transferred to Kurunegala Hospital in January 1965. But before long in November 1965, he was appointed Consultant Anaesthetist to the Cardiothoracic Unit in the General Hospital, Colombo. This was a new post created to commence cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. He had further training in USA and came back to the country and became the pioneer in open heart surgery at that time. The country’s first Intensive Care Unit was opened on June 16, 1968, with Dr. Thistle in charge.
When I started working in Colombo I used to get his services in the private sector on complicated cases. I had the privilege of being Obstetrician for his family and extended families. I delivered his six grandchildren in Colombo, two each to Dharini, Chalaka & Lakmini. He was lucky enough to have two great-grandchildren during his lifetime.
After his retirement in 1988 he was appointed as a Director of the Durdans Hospital, till his retirement in 2013.
I’m deeply grateful to him for the interest he took in daily visiting my wife who was warded at Durdans Hospital for a heart ailment. He used to visit her every morning at 7.30 a.m. I will never forget the unfortunate incident that took place when he was leaving the ward after seeing my wife and how he fell down when he was trying to open the ‘push-door’ in the ward and broke his hip for which he had to have surgery. This unfortunately led to his retirement from Durdans.
During the next six years he had to undergo many hardships as he had another fall and fractured the other hip as well. He was however determined to attend various meetings of the SLMA in a wheelchair.
He was my Treasurer for 10 long years when I was President of the Sri Lanka Medical Library from 1996 to 2013, and rendered a great service, the library doing quite well financially.
It was very unfortunate that he had to lose his youngest daughter Lakmini at the age of 52, around two years ago. This upset him very much. He lost his wife, Amara three months after his daughter’s death.
I was extremely happy when he decided to attend my 90th birthday celebrations at a Jetwing hotel, in 2018.
I knew him as a well-mannered, kind and considerate Doctor who was always immaculately dressed in his white suit.
He was a great philanthropist and a good Christian who attended the 6.30 a.m. service at Christ Church, Mount Lavinia every Sunday, without fail.
I would like to end with a quotation from the Bible:
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
May the Good Lord grant Thistle eternal rest and happiness in His home in heaven!
Prof. Wilfred Perera
He treated all with kindness and hospitality
Sarath Seneviratne
Writing a few words of tribute to late Sarath Seneviratne was an idea which came to me when I joined in his three month remembrance bana preaching and ‘sangika dana’.
He was the beloved husband of Dr. Indu and adored father of Chitira, Chirathi (fondly known as Chichi) and Sarathi, all doctors.
He was born to school principal parents who lived at Banduragoda. He entered Law College and passed out as a lawyer. Later he was the magistrate in Minuwangoda and Gampaha and was appointed as the Public Trustee of Sri Lanka. In his 15 years of dedicated service as the Public Trustee he contributed immensely to temples and schools. There were times he allocated large sums of money to the Dalada Maligawa and Ruwanweli seya and innumerable other temples.
During the time he lived in the Public Trustee Bungalow at Gregory’s Road Avenue, his gates were always open to all, whether the visitors were rich or poor, and they were all treated with utmost kindness and hospitality.
He was always thankful to his good frend who was with him at Law College presently a famous judge Sisira de Abrew for his help in his studies and to my husband who encouraged him to do law, being a lawyer himself.
Though he was born a family of teachers, he brought up a family of doctors which now includes a doctor daughter-in-law. In his long stay in Lanka Hospitals, doctors and staff had been very caring. He breathed his last on March 28.
He is greatly missed by his family, relations and loved ones.
May he attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.
Gladys Dharmawardene
His friendly demeanour drew people in
Professor Mahadeva Balakumaran
Professor Mahadeva Balakumaran, “Bala” to all who knew him closely, passed away in London on June 2, 2019.
We came to know him as schoolmates, since our very first days at Royal College in 1959. Prior to that year, he, together with his sisters, attended CMS Ladies’ College for his primary education. That was an era in the 50s/60s, when boys were allowed to hang around in girls’ schools till they were 10.
Bala was always that laidback chap in school, taking life in an easy-paced manner. He was never rushed. His love of sports and music was exemplified, especially in his later years when he became a great contributor to the Radio Ceylon page on FB. Photography was also another great love he cherished very much. His FB wall is loaded with music and memories in pictures of people and events he encountered in his daily life.
Banking was Bala’s forte in Sri Lanka and in the UK, where he went to live in 2005, even though he still retained his Sri Lankan passport, maintaining his status as a dual citizen. The English winters were always spent in sunny Sri Lanka and he never failed to make it to the Royal-Thomian cricket match in March each year.
Professor Balakumaran was a Management Consultant and Trainer, and was also a former Assistant General Manager of the Seylan Bank. He was considered to be the most professionally qualified banker in the island at that time, having obtained his Ph.D from the University of Honolulu, USA.
He was also the first recipient from Sri Lanka to be awarded the Financial Studies Diploma (Dip. FS), the highest qualification of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London, as well as being one of the first four persons to obtain the Diploma in Bank Management from the Institute of Bankers, Sri Lanka.
He was also awarded Fellowships by the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London (FCIB) and the Institute of Bankers, Sri Lanka (FIB).
Among his many illustrious accolades, are an MBA from the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayawardenapura, as well as Postgraduate Certificates in Human Resource Management in Banks, and Asset and Liability Management from the PIM. He was also an Associate of the Institute of Credit Management in Sri Lanka.
Bala, initially graduated from the University of Madras, after which he joined the Hatton National Bank, in Colombo, in 1974. Thereafter, he moved to The Union Bank of the Middle East Ltd in 1981 where he took up roles in Banking Operations and Customer Services.
Bala then joined Seylan Bank Ltd in Sri Lanka, in October 1989. He was installed as the youngest President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Colombo Centre in 1996. During his Presidency in 1996/1997 the Colombo Centre won the Best Local Centre of the Year award, and the first prize in the International group for 1996/1997.
He had the honour of receiving the award from Sir Brian Pitman, the CIB President at that time, at a ceremony held in London.
Bala was in Colombo this year too and attended the group AGM in March where he was able to reconnect with many of us at a sumptuous hopper dinner at the Capri Club in Colombo. He even signed the propositions of the new office bearers for 2019/20, who were all elected unanimously.
I spent many a moment with Bala during his visit this year. We enjoyed many breakfasts and tea at kiosks in Wellawatte, visited our old English Literature master at Royal, John Henry de Saram at his residence in Lauries Road, Bambalapitiya, and also trekked often to the GLO photo shop in Wellawatte to have his pictures on his camera and phone printed for his hard copy collection. I happened to bump into the two young sales ladies at GLO last week, at Wellawatte, and they almost wept when I broke the sad news to them. They even insisted I keep them informed about his funeral arrangements so they could pay their last respects. That was how much people related, and were attached to him on account of his friendly demeanour and humble attitude.
It was Bala’s wish to stay behind in Colombo to be a part of the two Bradby Shield Rugby games in Kandy and Colombo, but the lure of the World Cup in London took him away in May. He never failed to offer me a glass of EGB whenever I visited his flat down Canal Lane in Wellawatte. We spent many long hours in conversations about old times, people, and events.
Many were the friends he had found on FB on account of his love for country music. He never missed a musical concert and his last picture on his FB wall shows him posing with Daniel O’Donnell at a recent concert.
Bala was also very involved with the Hindu Temple administration and its management activities in Colombo. It was during our many memorable chats in Colombo that I discovered that he was a great-grandson of two of Sri Lanka’s most illustrious patriots, the late Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, and the late Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam. He was the second son of the late S. Mahedeva, former Deputy Legal Draftsman.
One thing we all admired him for was his tremendous love for the school and the massive and colourful support he always displayed in attending school cricket and rugby matches, dressed in blue and gold, wherever he lived.
Bala will be missed by us all. He now joins the 40+ other mates, from our Royal College Alumni ’59 Group of 218, who have moved on to the other side over the past decades. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his beautiful family.
May he Rest in Peace!
Fazli Sameer