Obituaries

Patrick was born in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia (now Kabwe in Zambia), and raised in Borrowdale outside of Salisbury (now Harare), then capital of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He was educated at St George's College before being named a 1965 Rhodes Scholar, where he obtained his MBChB and DM.

During Patrick’s clinical training and early work as a physician, he spent time at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London, Wessex Cardiac and Thoracic Center in Southampton, and the National Heart Hospital in London. He moved to the United States in 1980 as a British-American Fellow of the American College of Cardiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA. Patrick became an Assistant Professor of Medicine (cardiology) at the University of Michigan from 1982 to 1986. He then moved to Indianapolis, IN, where he became an Associate Professor of Cardiology in 1986 and a Professor of Medicine in 1994, and he practiced as an interventional cardiologist through the Indiana University and Methodist health systems in Indianapolis until 2019. He was a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the Royal College of Physicians.

Patrick also found lifelong prowess and success in sport. As a child in Rhodesia, then during university in the UK, he took part in the British traditions of rugby and cricket. While in university, he took up squash, rising quickly to the university "Squirrels" team, and elected to membership of the Vincent's sports club at Oxford. In middle age, he took up fitness anew; he ran in the Boston Marathon seven times and completed over 50 full and half Ironman triathlon competitions, including 10 Ironman World Championships and 10 “Half Ironman” World Championships.

He relished adventures with his children, hiking and climbing mountains, from Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, to backpacking summits in Ecuador, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Rwanda. He continued to relish skiing double-black diamonds, playing pickleball, and rounds of golf into his last year of life and was committed to demonstrating that “life is full” to the end.

Read a full obituary here.

We were saddened to hear that Dr David Natusch passed away peacefully in Cambridge, NZ on 9th October 2024, aged 84.

David was born in Hawkes Bay on the 1st of June 1940. He grew up on the farm, with his parents Molly and Roy, and brother Michael and sister Anna. As a boy, he attended Raukawa school before going to Lindisfarne College, where he was Head boy and Dux in 1958. He enjoyed cricket and athletics and went on to be awarded a University of Canterbury triple Blue.

David was Awarded a Charles Upham Scholarship to attend Canterbury University and he lived at College House. At Canterbury he was Vice president of the Student’s Association and received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science majoring in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.

In 1963, David was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to undertake a DPhil in Physical Chemistry at the University of Oxford. While at Oxford, he was the British Government Representative to the Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Germany in 1964. David graduated from Oxford with a Doctor of Philosophy in 1966. His thesis is titled: On the Theory of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance”.

In 1970 David received a Fullbright Scholarship and moved to Illinois, in the USA, for what was meant to be a 1-year posting as a visiting professor to the university. Not long after moving, David was offered a full-time position and stayed for 5 years.

In 1975 David was appointed as Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry at Colorado State University. In 1980, he accepted a position as a ‘Visiting Distinguished Professor’ at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. It was during this period as a University Professor that David was involved with a number of significant achievements. In 1976 his laboratory was consulted by the US Military to help them prolong the length of time a glow-stick could glow for. Along with many other scientists, David’s work on nuclear magnetic resonance formed the foundation for the invention of the MRI machine. While in Colorado, David’s laboratory was involved in the theory and design behind the nose module of one of the later NASA space shuttles, and he and his students were some of the first people to publish on the health concerns and environmental risks posed by the burning of certain fossil fuels.

In total, his time spent within the University systems saw him publish 105 scientific publications in Analytical and Environmental Chemistry and Alternative fuels Technology, 5 published books, and give 146 invited lectures. In 1981, David came back to New Zealand to be closer to family and became a Director for the Liquid Fuels Trust Board in Wellington – which was setup by the NZ government to make NZ independent of imported fuels during the 1980s oil shocks.

In 1992 David set up Resource Development Ltd and his life as a consultant began. David purchased all of NZ’s CNG stations after CNG was disbanded in New Zealand, He dismantled them, and exported them to Bolivia to establish the CNG industry over there. David also undertook Natural Gas Utilisation Planning in Papua New Guinea and in Vietnam, and worked for organisations like the UN, WHO, World Bank, and APEC.

David continued working until not long before he needed to move into care, working on projects in Bangladesh and for Tiffany & Co. Outside of his work-life David was also a Justice of the Peace, President of New Zealand Rhodes Scholars Association, and a marriage celebrant. In December 2022, David moved into Te Awa Lifecare, where he was fondly known as “The Professor”. He was described as a wonderfully intelligent and engaging friend by the staff there.