In memoriam
Remembering those who have passed
John Ware, OAM
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Respected alumnus, community pharmacist, international leader in the pharmacy profession, long-time friend and generous supporter of our faculty, Mr John Alexander Ware passed away on 27 December 2020, aged nearly 93.
Just days before his death, John was given the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia’s (PSA) Lifetime Achievement Award at the PSA 2020 Victorian Excellence Awards, an honour he shared with Valerie Constable. The award was merely the most recent milestone in a long and accomplished career championing both the pharmacy profession and the communities it serves in Australia and internationally.
John Ware graduated from the Victorian College of Pharmacy (VCP) in 1950. He was a community pharmacist for 40 years, operating pharmacies in both rural Australia and Melbourne. In addition to his professional practice, John served on a number of peak professional bodies, both domestic and international. He was both National President and Victorian State President of the PSA, as well as President of the Australian College of Pharmacy Practice.
He was also Chair of the Faculty Council of the VCP during the so-called ‘Dawkins reforms’ of the early 1990s. In this position, he led the team that brokered the amalgamation between the VCP and Monash University in 1992 – a contribution to our faculty that cannot be overstated and will forever be enshrined in our history. Fittingly, John was honoured with an Order of Australia for service to pharmacy education and professional development of pharmacy in the 2002 Australia Day Honours List.
John also worked with International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) for 10 years as its representative to the World Health Organization, Western Pacific Regional Office. The FIP is the global body representing over four million pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists worldwide, whose mission is to support global health by enabling the advancement of pharmaceutical practice, sciences and education. In particular, John played an active role in the establishment of the FIP Regional Western Pacific Pharmaceutical Forum in 2001, which he successfully led for many years. FIP recognised his continuous support and contributions by making him an FIP Fellow in 2006 and awarding him the FIP Distinguished Service Award in 2014.
In 2019, together with his beloved wife Nariel, he was responsible for the largest-ever endowment in the pharmacy education field within Australia: the $1 million John and Nariel Ware Fellowship in Pharmacy Education and Leadership. The Fellowship is a two-year postdoctoral position within our faculty that supports research into pharmacy education in perpetuity, reflecting John’s long passion for constant innovation in pharmacy through contemporary instructional practices.
The Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Professor Arthur Christopoulos, paid tribute to John Ware and his immeasurable contributions to pharmacy practice and education.
John was a giant in our field, and it is truly difficult to encapsulate in words his passion and his unwavering belief in pharmacy as a premiere healthcare profession that brings communities together in good times and even more so in difficult times – as we all experienced first-hand this past year,” said Prof Christopoulos.
“On a personal note, John has always been one of the most generous, caring and supportive individuals I have ever met. In my early days practising as a pharmacist, John was the first to impress upon me the importance of giving back to the profession through leveraging my research to advance practice in any way that I could, including through the delivery of continuing professional education to pharmacists in both metropolitan and in rural regions; John’s love and advocacy for rural pharmacy in particular is well-known. More recently, John has proven an invaluable mentor and guide, together with Peter Cook and John Coppock, through their roles on our faculty’s Foundation Board as I have navigated my new role as Dean.
“John will always remain a most cherished member of our history and pharmacy family. On behalf of Monash’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, I wish to extend our sincerest condolences and commiserations to Nariel and John’s large loving family of children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, mentees and friends in Australia and around the world”.
Ian Larmour
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The pharmacy profession lost one of its great leaders last year. Dr (Captain) Ian Larmour passed away on the 23 July 2020, after a long and illustrious career in hospital pharmacy.
Ian graduated from the then Victorian College of Pharmacy (now Monash University) in 1969. He became a Fellow of the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) in 1975 and achieved a Masters in Pharmacology degree from Monash University in 1986.
In mid 2020, prior to his passing, Ian was awarded a Doctorate of Medical and Health Sciences, also from Monash University, with his thesis Innovation and Evolution of Hospital Pharmacy Practice – A collection of published works 1973–2018. He was able to accept this honour in person, which was to be his last public engagement.
After completing his internship at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 1970, Ian’s distinguished career began in the army as a pharmacist, where he introduced ward pharmacy into the defence force. He achieved the rank of Captain in 1973. In that year, Ian was appointed as the Deputy Director of Pharmacy at the then Prince Henry’s Hospital in Melbourne, and rose to become Director of Pharmacy in 1981.
When Prince Henry’s hospital was relocated to Clayton, Ian was appointed Director of Pharmacy at Southern Health, now Monash Health, which included hospital campuses in Clayton, Dandenong, Moorabbin, Kingston and Casey. Ian held this position until his retirement in 2015 — continuous service for 42 years.
Ian held multiple senior positions at Monash Health and with professional organisations including SHPA, Monash University, Health Purchasing Victoria, Victorian Therapeutic Advisory Group (VicTAG), Australia Journal of Hospital Pharmacy and the Melbourne Teaching Hospitals Drug Usage Group (MTHDUG).
His contribution to the pharmacy profession was recognised by being awarded the SHPA Medal of Merit in 1991. In 2008, Ian was invited as the John Autain Distinguished Overseas Visiting Professor, Pharmacy Faculty, Tennessee University, USA and in 2009 and again in 2011, was the Visiting Professor, Clinical Pharmacy, Pharmacy Department, Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health of China.
Ian was a much-loved and respected member of the hospital pharmacy profession. He oversaw hundreds of pharmacy students and interns during his time at both Prince Henry’s and Monash Health over his tenure of more than 40 years, and of course, many more pharmacists and pharmacy technicians over this time. He will be remembered as a gentleman and a scholar, and is greatly missed by his staff, the pharmacy profession, the organisations he represented with great distinction, and his two sons and adoring wife.
Vale Ian Larmour – Rest In Peace.
Professor Mohamed Azmi Ahmad Hassali
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The pharmacy profession lost one of its key intellectual leaders when Professor Mohamed Azmi Ahmad Hassali passed away on 16 July 2021.
Professor Hassali graduated with a B Pharm from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in 1988, followed by a M Pharm in 2001. In 2002, he was selected for the USM’s Academic Staff Training Fellowship to pursue a PhD in Australia. His PhD journey began when Dr David Kong visited Universiti Malaya in the early 2000s, where Azmi was working. He took the opportunity to introduce himself to David. In 2002, Azmi began his PhD studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University (Australia), under the supervision of Dr David Kong and A/Prof Kay Stewart, exploring the use of generic medicines.
During his time at Monash, Azmi established a strong academic network. He was always willing to listen, reflect, adapt and grow (both intellectually and personally). Quality was always transparent in all that Azmi did. These traits remained with Azmi throughout his life. After completing his PhD in 2006, Azmi joined USM. He was one of the key academics who established the Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy (DSAP) within the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, USM. Azmi was promoted to Associate Professor, and appointed as the Program Chair for DSAP in 2010. In 2012, he became Deputy Dean of Student Affairs and Networking. He obtained his professorship in 2014 at the age of 40.
Professor Hassali’s main areas of research included social pharmacy, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacy practice, clinical pharmacoeconomics and clinical pharmacy. He has published widely: over 600 peer-reviewed journals and over 250 conference abstracts.
Professor Hassali was recognised by the WHO’s Pacific Office and WHO Geneva as a leading researcher in the field of generic medicine policy and medication safety. He has graduated over 100 postgraduate students and received numerous awards at local and national levels.
Professionally, Prof Hassali served as advisory board member and editor for many academic journals. His adjunct appointments include honorary/visiting professor at several institutions in the Middle East and Malaysia. Professor Hassali was routinely invited as a keynote or plenary speaker at many local and international conferences.
Professor Hassali was probably best loved in his role as an academic. Being the friendly, diligent, generous, caring mentor and supervisor that he was, he is fondly known as the Great Guru by his students, many of whom are now scattered across the world. Amid his countless accomplishments, his greatest legacy will be the numerous pharmacists and students whom he influenced, inspired and mentored.
Authors: Kay Stewart and David Kong
Centre for Medicine Use and Safety
Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Monash University
Hanh Nguyen
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To those whom this concerns in our Monash community, my name is Hamilton and I am a third-year Pharmacy student. Like many of you, I am absolutely devastated by the recent death of my friend Hanh Nguyen, Gem. I want to share with you all the pivotal role that Gem had in my life.
Throughout most of my first year I really struggled to make friends here, mostly because I was anxious being around so many new people. So, I spent this time mostly feeling isolated at campus, being withdrawn from communal Monash events and group projects, and I thought I’d be like that until I finished my degree. This was detrimental in many respects, but none more so than my performance at university, as I was frankly unmotivated. I honestly believed that I would just have to drag myself through every semester.
Then COVID-19 happened, I was legitimately on the path to failing University, having absolutely no motivation to try, because I didn’t know anyone and didn’t feel the need to. I met Gem in the second semester of 2020 through group work and I was not only greeted with extreme kindness, but also an incredible emotional sensitivity that I was taken aback by. Her outgoing nature and hilarious sense of humour meant that I felt immediately comfortable and at home with the group, even though this was all online. She became the catalyst for the change in my motivation at university, as she was also an extremely driven woman who excelled in my course.
Like I previously mentioned, I was in a total slump, but she saw through my attempts to hide this on the very first day. I asked her questions about how she would study for certain assignments, which led to us talking more frequently. She began to open up about her personal life, as did I. She noticed I wanted a change in mindset and began including me in group study sessions for certain assignments. Here she introduced me to a group of likeminded driven and motivated young women, whom I am still close with today, and pray for.
Gem and her friends probably had no idea how much this inclusion meant to me, they lifted me back on my feet. This led to a cascade of great changes in my life, all attributed to how inspired I was by Gem’s aura and demeanor.
Last semester we also had group work together, and to say the least it was absolute joy! Every session would put a smile on my face and I felt so comfortable knowing I had people to turn to because of her. I remember that in our last conversation we spoke about how anxious we were for what the next semester would be like, and I remember wishing her the best with her partner over the break, as she was so happily in love!
Gem has left a legacy in our cohort; I say this confidently because I still feel her positive presence when I am around her friends … my
friends! She is the person who brought us all together, and I honestly believe that our paths crossing was an absolute blessing. It’s daunting to think where my life might have been had I not met her, I will be forever grateful for our friendship.
REST IN PEACE GEM, You are missed!
Pauline E Powell OAM
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Pauline Elsie Powell (nee Praetz) OAM passed away in January after a brave fight with cancer. She died in the middle of a COVID-19 lockdown respite. At her funeral in Rye at St James Anglican Church, the church hall and a neighbouring school hall were packed with mourners from Rye and far away, a tribute to an outstanding local leader and friend.
Pauline graduated from the Victorian College of Pharmacy in 1954, having won the Silver Medal as top student of Materia Medica. She married VCP Gold Medallist husband Jim in 1956. After locum jobs in London, Pauline and Jim made the move to Goble’s Pharmacy in Rye in 1958, which they were to operate as Powell’s Pharmacy for the next 36 years. Jim was a Bendigo and Maryborough boy and Pauline had spent four formative years at school in Myrtleford and as an apprentice in Maffra, so they were both attuned to life in what was then a small-town environment. Like all regional pharmacists they became an indispensable source of healthcare and family advice to the Rye community (swelling to a huge holiday clientele over the frantic summer holiday period).
Both immediately made their mark in community life, Jim with involvement in Rotary and Lions’ Clubs, the Progress Association, the school committee, Chamber of Commerce and finally, as a Flinders Shire Council Councillor.
Tragically, he died of cancer in 2002.
By then Pauline had already stamped her presence throughout the Mornington Peninsula. A champion tennis player from her youth, multiple club championships, Foundation and Life Membership of the Rye Tennis Club was a matter of course. She became an outstanding member and pennant player of the Portsea Golf Club, serving as Associates’ Captain then President, co-author of a club history. Perhaps more importantly, she had taken on executive roles with a never-ending range of school and community activities.
Following Jim’s passing, Pauline’s appetite for community service went on unabated, broken only with overseas trips with sister Barbara. She served on various Shire Council bodies, Peninsula Health, and gained great pleasure serving as Foundation President and Life Member of the Rye Historical Society. Fittingly, in 2005, she was recognised with the Order of Australia Medal "For services to the community of Rye, particularly through a range of heritage, sporting and service organisations."
Family life with children Janice, Andrew and Margie was always Pauline and Jim’s priority, enhanced with the arrival of grandchildren Jarrod, Vicki and Callum. Frequent travels around Australia and overseas were punctuated with amazingly successful genealogical research and history writing.
Like so many other successful country pharmacists, Pauline used her skills as a respected professional to serve her community in the widest sense. She will remain a legendary Rye figure.