Obituaries
Please alert us to the recent death of any other Rhodes Scholar by emailing communications@rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk.
Ravish Tiwari, National Political Editor and Chief of National Bureau of The Indian Express died on 19 February 2022 at the age of 40. He had been fighting cancer since June 2020.
Growing up in Deoria in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Ravish studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, where he got his dual B.Tech- M.Tech in metallurgy and material sciences. His passion for questions that go to the heart of politics and society made him switch to social sciences and he studied at Oxford University in 2005-2006 as a Rhodes Scholar.
In a media ecosystem where self-promotion is almost a credo, Tiwari let his stories do the talking. Some of his most recent work included flagging the shifting political wind on the farm laws to the RSS disquiet over the farm protests; revealing how the Government reached out to Congress chief whip the night before it split Jammu and Kashmir to explaining why this year’s Budget kept an arm’s length from politics. His analytical work identified crucial trends including the importance of the first-time voter in 2014 and the political economy of the national rural employment guarantee scheme.
PM Modi said in a tweet: “Destiny has taken away Ravish Tiwari too soon. A bright career in the media world comes to an end. I would enjoy reading his reports and would also periodically interact with him. He was insightful and humble. Condolences to his family and many friends. Om Shanti.”
Professor Derek de Sa studied for a DPhil in Pathology at Jesus College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. He went on to study at the Royal College of Pathologists, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Derek was a Professor of Pathology at the Children's & Women's Health Centre at the University of British Columbia.
Born in Toronto, in his teen years Pat moved with his family to Vancouver, where he finished high school and went on to study biology and physics at the University of British Columbia. In 1952, he won a Rhodes Scholarship. He met his first wife, Elizabeth, while at Oxford and became deeply involved with different Christian student groups. It was here he committed himself to Christ. After marrying, the couple moved to Philadelphia, where Pat completed his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. Their two eldest children were born during this time. Next stop was Cambridge for a post-doc and then Vancouver, where Pat took up a position as assistant professor of physics at UBC. Some five years later, with three children in tow, the family moved to London, Ontario, where Pat would join the brand-new Biophysics Department at the University of Western Ontario. He spent the rest of his career at UWO, retiring at the age of 65.
Science in general and biophysics in particular were far from Pat's only interests. He was a devout Christian, often giving talks about the relationship between Christianity and science, and he spent a lot of his time on campus meeting and encouraging Christian students, especially international students. His love of music centred on two passions: country dancing and bagpipes. He heard his first bagpipes in Scotland at the age of 8 and never looked back. His love of dance began with square dances held in the family home in Toronto and over the years branched out to Scottish and English country dance, Morris, Playford and even Swedish country dance. Travel-to Japan, China, Turkey, Ireland, Greece, Mexico, Australia, Alaska, and many other lands-was another of his pleasures.
At the age of 85, some 17 years after Elizabeth's death, Pat remarried. He spent his final years with his new wife Jeanine, dancing, playing duets, attending church together, and fully enjoying each other's company. His was a full life and a rich one, and he was grateful for every bit of it.
John Kane-Berman, who was born on the eve of apartheid and devoted his life to vigorously opposing the race nationalism of apartheid’s ideologues and, at their defeat, the illiberal impulses of their successors, has died aged 76.
His conviction in the power of ideas was central to his long association with the South African Institute of Race Relations. It remains a profound and lasting influence on the liberal cause, and the continuing efforts to achieve a fairer, prospering South Africa.
Said John Endres, CEO of the South African Institute of Race Relations: “John Kane-Berman leaves a profound legacy. As CEO of the Institute from 1983 until 2014, he was a fearless proponent of liberalism before, during and after South Africa’s democratic transition. He sharpened the SAIRR’s focus, put it on a sound financial footing and set it on the path that turned it into the potent force that it is today.
“His brave and unstinting commitment to the liberal cause inspired legions of South African liberals, myself included. John Kane-Berman was known for his eloquent presentation, exceptional memory, thorough command of his subject matter and exemplary discipline. He was demanding, setting the highest standards for himself and others, because he realised the importance of the project he was engaged in: to insist that nothing less than true non-racialism and personal freedom would allow the dignity and prosperity of all South Africans to flourish.”
Dr. F. Jackson Piotrow, Jack to everyone who knew him, was born June 10, 1931, in Martinsville, Virginia. He completed his high school education in Rochester, New York. He received a bachelor's degree from Haverford College with a major in German. Selected for a Rhodes Scholarship in 1953, he attended Oxford University in England, where he earned an M.A. degree in German and Russian languages and a doctorate in modern Russian history. While based in England on a Ford Foundation fellowship in 1958-59, he conducted research in the Soviet Union on his dissertation dealing with the Constitutional Democratic Party in the reign of Nicholas II. In 1971-72, he held the Henry L. Stimpson Chair of Political Science at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He led study tours in the Soviet Union for students and American University alumni in 1979-80 and again in the summer of 1981. In the 1989 fall semester, he was Visiting Professor of Russian at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
In 1956-58, Jack served in Washington, D.C. as a junior officer on active duty with the U.S. Navy. He entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1960, serving as staff assistant to the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Subsequently he worked first as scriptwriter for Edward P. Morgan of ABC News and then as Assistant on Foreign Affairs for Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota. He joined The American University faculty in September 1963.
Jack served as a Faculty Member of the School of International Service at The American University from 1963 to 1992. He was Acting Dean and Dean of SIS 1965-66, 1976-78, 1984-1986; and served as Education Director for the Washington Semester Program 1990-91.
Jack was an inquisitive life-long learner. He enjoyed reading and being active. He played tennis for 70 years and tried all kinds of sporting activities over the years, such as sailing, biking, hiking, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, pole trekking, miniature golf, pickle ball, ping pong, and kicking the soccer ball. Jack really enjoyed being out in nature and taking a good walk/hike. He liked to visit local attractions, national parks, historical battlefields, monuments, wildlife centers, zoos, aquariums, and museums. Jack had a knack for finding obscure attractions and hidden gems. It was best to never be in a hurry when on an outing with Jack. He liked to take his time and read every description, historical marker, and information plaque posted along the way.
John H. Chettle passed away on Sunday, September 25, 2022. He was 84 and leaves behind his wife, Judith, his children Anne and William, grandsons, Will and Wyatt Reinke, and more than 10,000 books. Born in South Africa, he was a Rhodes Scholar and lawyer for many years with Freedman, Levy, Kroll & Simonds, specializing in International Trade Law. He loved his family, books, art, antiques, and a good—but always polite—argument.
James Graham McLeod was born on 18 January 1932, the son, and grandson, of builders. After the war, his parents moved to Ashfield, where McLeod was born, the youngest of four children by several years. He was an exceptional student and dux of his leaving year at Sydney Grammar School. His early ambition was to become a veterinarian, because of his love of animals, but instead, but he followed his father’s advice to accept a scholarship to study medicine at the University of Sydney, and never looked back.
McLeod’s involvement with the University of Sydney, both professionally and spiritually, was lifelong. He is an alumnus of the University’s St Paul’s College, where he was a sub-warden (1958). While completing a BSc (Med) in 1953, McLeod met Professor Frank Cotton, who was assessing students for their physical capacity for rowing. Although McLeod had no experience in this sport, results of his tests suggested he may succeed as an oarsman. Indeed, he won a university Blue in rowing (also in rifle shooting) and represented NSW in the King’s Cup.
McLeod was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in 1953, and in 1956 graduated DPhil (Oxon) for his studies into the physiology of pain. During his candidature he represented Oxford in the Oxford and Cambridge boat race and in 1954, with three other Australia scholars in the crew, helped Oxford to win the centenary race.
Robert had a long and illustrious career as a surgeon, specializing in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat) and Head and Neck surgery. He was on staff and Chief of Surgery at the York-Finch/Humber Hospital in West Toronto. He practised medicine in the Jane and Finch area for 45 years.
A conscientious student, Robert was educated at: Holy Innocence Elementary School in St. Andrew's Grenada, St. Andrew's Anglican Secondary School, Grenada Boys Secondary School, University College of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica and Jesus College, Oxford University, England. In 1962, Robert was selected for the Rhodes Scholarship for the Caribbean and completed his medical training at Jesus College, Oxford University.
In his youth and early adulthood Robert was a cricketer, a spin bowler specifically. Later on his energies became focused on golf and he joined Spring Lakes Golf Club in Stouffville.
Henry Ronald Kloppenburg died October 12, 2022 at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was born June 21, 1945 at Humboldt, Saskatchewan. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Humboldt, then moved on to the University of Saskatchewan where he obtained an Arts and a Law degree. In 1968, Henry went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Laws in 1970. After returning to Canada, Henry served as a Law Clerk to Justice E.M. Hall at the Supreme Court of Canada and was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1971. Henry continued to practice law until the time of his death, the last several years in semiretirement. Since 1977, Henry practiced law with his wife, Cheryl.