OBITUARY

Obituary
Tobie RossouwDr

Tobie Rossouwand I first met in 1996,
when he took over senior tutorials fol-
lowing the death of Professor Eric
Samuel. His vast knowledge and
enthusiasm for radiology impressed
and immediately commanded
respect. He was a hard taskmaster,
dedicated to radiology and teaching
and yet he retained a sense of empathy
for his students. He honoured the
responsibility that teaching carries at
all times, despite the added burden it
brought him. In time Tobie became
my good friend and mentor, an ever-
present source of wise counsel and
advice with regard to difficult cases
and practice problems.

Three of Tobie's most outstanding
attributes were perfectionism, humili-
ty, and above all, generosity. He gave of
himself beyond requirement, never
allowing personal problems to detract
from his duty toward his students or
to hamper his willingness to help all
who cared to ask.

Tobie's passion was the practice of
Radiology, no question, but he had
other talents and interests too. He
enjoyed motorcars and engines. He
had a fascination for the chemistry of
engine oils and conducted experi-
ments with these. He has a passion for
the outdoors. He was also an excellent
cook and loved wine and biltong. He
and his wife, Lona were not blessed
with children, but he often spoke of

his sister's children and loved them as
his own. Tobie was also a deeply reli-
gious and God-fearing man.

Tobie practised radiology at Union
Hospital and later at Krugersdorp
before joining the team at
Sunninghill, where he worked, taught
and thrived for the last 16 months of
his life.

Tobie Rossouw was a man I came to
know, love and admire. His untimely
death has left a deep sense of loss and
pain and the realisation that he signif-
icantly affected my life and indeed, the
lives of all he touched.

Sheldon Codinho

Tobie Rossouw joined our practice in
mid 2000, but the short period of 18
months with us led to a quantum leap
in our knowledge, our level of expert-
ise and our enthusiasm for radiology.
He gave us a fresh view of our profes-
sion and, although MR! was his true
love, his contribution to any aspect of
radiology was always innovative, prac-
tical and topical. He read extensively,
spent hours on the internet, and
much time preparing lectures and
teaching students.

Tobie was a true academic with a
brilliant mind, but he had a unique
ability to reach the level of his patient's

51 SA JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY. October 2001

problems and the referring clinician's
needs.

His understanding of MR! physics
and his ability to manipulate the MR!
scanner to suit each problem set him
apart from us ordinary radiologists,
who use MR! superficially and
mechanically.

Tobie's untimely death has been a
severe blow to our practice, but more
importantly it has created a void in the
practice of medicine in our hospital
and in areas far beyond. A dark cloud
has descended on us all and tears have
been shed without shame by our
entire staff, by doctors, nurses and
staff members throughout the hospi-
tal who loved, respected and admired
Tobie without exception. It is small
consolation to know that Tobie spent
the happiest 16 months of his medical
life in our department and that he
died doing what he always wanted to
do. I have come to know Lona quite
well since Tobie joined us. Their mar-
riage was clearly built on a deep love
and respect for each other and we
know that our loss pales into insignif-
icance alongside hers. Perhaps her
knowledge of our immense regard for
Tobie will help her a little in the weeks
and months ahead and we collectively
wish her and her whole family
strength and healing.

Tobie, you can rest in peace in the
knowledge that you touched the lives
of many diverse souls during your
short life, and that you truly made a
difference.

Dr Farrell Spiro