OBITUARY FOR DR RICHARD JOHN CASEY

John Casey’s many friends and colleagues will be saddened to hear of his passing on May 9th this year at Box Hill Hospital, surrounded by members of his family. John was in his eightieth year.

Richard John Casey, known universally as John, was born on 31st July 1945 to Jack and Eileen Casey. The Caseys subsequently had another son, Peter, a younger brother for John. John’s father, Jack, served in the NSW police force for many years, as a senior police officer in several rural police stations and country towns in NSW.

John received his undergraduate and initial post graduate university education at the University of Newcastle, NSW, obtaining BSc (1st class honours) and PhD degrees, and subsequently spent sabbaticals in the UK at the University of East Anglia and later at the Open University. He often talked about his experiences there, brought to life by the surrealist TV series “A Very Peculiar Practice” which was largely shot on the University of East Anglia campus. He also completed further studies at Monash University and the University of Melbourne, obtaining the qualifications of a Diploma of Education, a Master of Educational Studies, and a Graduate Diploma in Education Administration Science, particularly Chemistry and Education.

John worked for a spell in industry with Fibremakers Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICI Australia at the time, located in Bayswater, Victoria, but returned to academia to take up a teaching and research role at the Footscray Institute of Technology in 1973, which subsequently became Victoria University, rising to the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Chemistry. He took an early retirement package after 30 years at Footscray in December 2002 and established RJC Associates, consulting in the fields of science and education.

Following his retirement from VU, John took on the part time role of Demonstrator in the student laboratories at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Parkville for several years.

Over the years, John was particularly interested in teaching and research, administration and community service, and undertook consultancies on industrial and research projects. John has been described as a scientist and academic with an insatiable curiosity about the world who loved to share his knowledge with others. He was a fierce advocate for the underdog and was an avid collector of millions of interesting “things” including a vast library of all manner and types of books, magazines and journals.

John was a keen and loyal supporter of the Society of Chemical Industry, a member of the executive committee and an office bearer for many years, initially of the SCIV (the Society of Chemical Industry of Victoria) and subsequently, following the merger with the SCI UK in 1999, of the SCI Australia International Group. John was a worthy recipient of an SCI Distinguished Service Award in 2021 for his long, extensive and valuable service to the organisation.

John was an elected Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and a Chartered Chemist (FRACI CChem). He supported many RACI activities, especially in later years, the Victorian Branch Retirees’ Group, where he once gave a memorable online presentation on some of the more interesting and obscure books he had read, and the Health, Safety and Environment Group, where he participated in many site visits. His most significant contributions to the RACI were his regular book reviews published in “Chemistry in Australia”. His reviews were always interesting and informative, frequently sufficient to stimulate purchasing the book concerned (or borrowing it from a library somewhere) and occasionally a bit controversial, which in no way detracted from the entertainment value of his writing.

John was an enthusiastic supporter of the Nunawading U3A, where he regularly participated in Geology lectures and excursions and will be remembered by many of his fellow classmates.

John is survived by his beloved wife, Deirdre, a former teacher at Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Melbourne, and by his two daughters, Helen and Meg, both having established successful professional careers one in Finance and the other in the Law, and both of whom he was extremely proud.

A memorial gathering to celebrate John’s life will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday August 2nd at St Thomas Anglican Church, 44 Station Street, Burwood, Vic 3125.

John will be sadly missed.

Richard Thwaites

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