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Show OBITUARY Stephen Edward Smith (1929-2007) Stephen Edward Smith, a noted ophthalmologist and pharmacologist, died in London in December, 2007 at the age of 78. Stephen was a remarkable man whose gen-erosity and humanity earned him a place in the hearts as well as minds of everyone who knew him. Blessed with a sharp mind and educated at Christ Church Cathedral School and laterWestminster School, hewon a scholarship to Christ Church Oxford to read Medicine. The clinical years of his medical training were spent at St. Thomas' Hospital, London where he met his first wife, Marjorie, and made many friends. After house jobs, he started his clinical career in anes-thetics, but after serving his National Service in Colchester, he decided to pursue academic medicine and applied for a research post with Professor Sam Stacey in the Department of Pharmacology at St. Thomas' Hospital.Within 3 years, he had taken a PhD and was appointed lecturer and later senior lecturer in that department, eventually being offered a personal Chair. He developed a life-long interest in ocular pharmacology, a subject then only in its infancy. Together with his second wife, Shirley, he established a pupillometry laboratory to investigate drug actions and autonomic function within the eye, publishing many papers under the now famous trademark ‘‘Smith & Smith.'' I first met Stephen when I was a medical student at St. Thomas' Hospital, London, and immediately was aware that he was an exceptional teacher. As professor and head of the Department of Clinical Pharmacology, he used to take small groups of students onto the wards, pick up a drug chart at random, and discuss in minute detail the prescriptions. He would ask us what we thought might be the patient's diagnosis, why these drugs had been prescribed, how we could monitor the effect of the drugs, and whether we could think of any alternative treatments and discuss their relative merits and drawbacks. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he encouraged us to think, to question, to challenge, and above all to treat the patient and not the disease. His energy and enthusiasm for teaching were legendary, his lectures and tutorials always over-subscribed, and his thoughtful, analytical approach to medicine an inspiration for many generations of medical students. Many years later our paths crossed again when, as a young trainee in ophthalmology, I applied to work at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery and found the recently retired professor still conducting pupillometry research out of a small converted broom cupboard in the Department of Neuro-ophthalmology. I was struck by his dedication to the patients, his enduring interest in the subject, and the meticulous care with which he carried out his experiments. We enjoyed a 10-year research partnership before his final illness, during which time I also discovered the vast breadth of his outside interests, including the other great love of his life-music (he played the violin, horn, and piano and sang in choirs). He also had a passion for theater, books, and the people of Burma. He was always polite and considerate and was loved by patients and colleagues alike. Selfless to the end, he agreed to be interviewed and photographed just before his death by the national press in support of an article about the important work done for the terminally ill by hospices (The Times: November 30th, 2007). He leaves behind two children, Alex and Simon, to whom he was utterly devoted. Fion Bremner, PhD, FRCOphth London, England Stephen Smith at age 78 outside All Saints Church in Tudeley, UK, 2007. J Neuro-Ophthalmol, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2008 261 |
