On 26 January 2022, Anne Rickard (née Harris) MPharmS, aged 79 years, of Crewe, Cheshire. Ms Rickard registered with the Society in 1964.
Tribute
When Anne Rickard sadly passed away in January 2022, the South Cheshire area of the RPS Local network lost one of its longest-serving and most appreciated committee members.
Anne’s long service on the committee began in April 1989. She remained a committee member for 30 years until her retirement at the end of 2019, during which time the branch had become the Mersey, Cheshire and Isle of Man LPF after the demerger of the Society in 2010.
Anne was a very senior hospital pharmacist and used her skills of organisation and calm leadership to great effect in her work for the branch.
During her 30 years of service, Anne Chaired the branch for a year (1994–1995), was secretary for 14 years and treasurer for 8 years. She spent many hours organising branch and LPF meetings to support her fellow pharmacists. These meetings provided both professional education and the opportunity to network with other pharmacists, especially those from different sectors of the profession.
A lot of background work goes into producing an annual programme of meetings and Anne’s most time-consuming work was as secretary in the days before electronic communications. Communication was done via printed newsletters, which had to be produced, duplicated, put into envelopes addressed to each member, stamped, and posted to every member of the branch, which numbered several thousands! Anne was always helped and supported by her devoted husband Don, whose technical skills were invaluable in producing very professional newsletters. He was also a willing helper with the envelope stuffing, sticking and stamping!
Anne also represented the branch and LPF at regional and national meetings, annual branch representatives meetings and several RPS annual conferences.
Anne’s work improved the lives of many pharmacists in South Cheshire, although Anne was reserved and modest about her considerable skills. She will be missed and remembered fondly by all of us who served on the committee alongside her and the many pharmacists whose lives she enriched.
Cathey Holland