Al Rae, Emeritus Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics at Massey University, died on October 16, 2009, in Palmerston North.

Al was a member of the New Zealand Statistical Association, an Honorary Life Member of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

AgResearch Note

It is with sadness that we note the passing of one of the great icons of New Zealand agriculture. This morning Professor Al (Alexander) Rae died in Palmerston North.

Professor Rae was one of the founders of modern animal breeding. The foundations that he laid, both theoretical and practical, underpin the present industries represented by LIC, the Landcorp animal breeding schemes and other programs in sheep, beef cattle and poultry.

He had the rare ability to contribute to theoretical population genetics at the highest level, yet could also appreciate (and deal with) the practical problems of actually implementing the theory on-farm. Al held the chair in Sheep Husbandry at Massey University until his retirement.

There are many people in AgResearch who will have been influenced by Al’s teaching. He will be greatly missed.

It was with great sadness that the Department of Mathematics and Statistics said farewell to Irene Goodwin, who died on 27th October, just a few short months after being diagnosed with cancer. Irene was a much-loved colleague who was a mentor and friend to staff and students, and her passing has left a huge gap in the Department. She joined the Department in 1988, and spent much of her time as secretary to the Professor of Statistics and the CASM Unit. Irene was always efficient, well organised and willing to undertake new work. We still hear comments from past visitors about how well they were looked after by Irene during their visit (more than one expressed a strong interest in taking Irene back with them!).

Irene had a genuinely caring manner that was never sentimental. Her attitude was that she was there to help others; one that we could all learn from. Her office was often busy, with people starting their day by coming in to share their joys or woes. Irene was a great listener and always discreet. She also knew how to use humour to lighten things up or for gentle admonishment.

Despite several health problems over the years, Irene never complained and had a very positive attitude toward life. She showed this most clearly in her last few months, in a manner that those who knew her will never forget.

Irene was full of wonderful tales from her earlier life on the ocean as a ship captain’s wife. One story involved a description of being in the centre of a hurricane lying on the floor of the cabin trying to catch one of her pot-plants as it slid from one side to another: even when surrounded by chaos, Irene could always attend to a small but essential detail.

Irene was especially fond of conference organisation and is well-known to many of our colleagues around the world as a consequence. Thanks to Irene our conferences always ran smoothly and at a profit. One of our favourite conference stories comes from the 2007 EURING conference. Pertti Saurola, a Professor from Helsinki, had considerable airline-related problems in getting to Dunedin. Irene provided her usual abundance of help and solved his problems. At the conference dinner, Pertti somehow managed to get Irene seated in a chair in the centre of room and proceeded to serenade her with a rendition of Goodnight Irene.

Irene Goodwin: Always cheerful, Always thoughtful, Always with the interests of others at heart. An example for us all.

David Fletcher