I was very sorry to hear of the death of my distinguished friend and colleague John Ware, Order of Australia (OAM).
Although a Fellow of the Society, John was far better known in Australian and international pharmacy than he was in Britain. A community pharmacist, dually qualified in Australia and Great Britain, he distinguished himself with positions which included serving as president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (and president of the Victoria State Branch), president of the Australian College of Pharmacy Practice and chairman of the Faculty Council of the Victoria College of Pharmacy, where he and his wife Nariel (a former pharmacy administrator) donated very generously to create the Ware educational fellowship.
A great supporter of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), John, along with Nariel, regularly attended FIP international conferences, and John made a substantial impact on the development of medicines and professional services in the Western Pacific region for FIP and the World Health Organization. He chaired the FIP Foundation for Education and Research, and was recognised by his country for his contributions to pharmacy by the award of the OAM. An internationally respected figure in pharmacy, he and Nariel could be found at FIP conferences hosting the most convivial of gatherings, with the serious objective of enjoying ourselves while putting pharmacy to rights.
John maintained a keen interest in developments in British pharmacy. During my time as president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, we tried to achieve the objective of reforming the Society while retaining the dual function of regulation and professional representation. John gave wise counsel and the benefit of his experiences of the various Australian state administrations that had legislated for the separation of those two functions into separate bodies. At the time (2005) we thought we had avoided that fate in Britain but, of course, sometime later, John’s warnings came to pass and, as in most of Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society lost its regulatory functions.
In retirement, John and Nariel continued to travel until quite recently, meeting their wide circle of friends whilst maintaining a foothold in practical pharmacy. They owned a beautifully-situated house and farm near Seymour, Victoria, where John grew and manufactured prizewinning olive oil. A great enthusiast for pharmacy and its potential, John was a larger-than-life figure who very much saw pharmacy making a wide contribution to healthcare. His vision and energy will be much missed, and our sympathy goes out to his family and to his wife Nariel.
Nicholas L. Wood FRPharmS