Tribute from the British Association of Veterinary
Ophthalmologists (BrAVO)
Keith was awarded honorary Life
Membership at the 2003 meeting of the British
Association of Veterinary Ophthalmologists held
in Cambridge in conjunction with ECVO/ESVO.
At the meeting he gave us a very
entertaining synopsis of his career, which
obviously continued for several years after this
date. He would frequently attend our meetings,
from the fledgling sessions attended by a couple
of dozen at most, to our recent sell-out weekend
gatherings, and would always be dominant in
any discussions following the oral presentations!
He was always great fun socially – and
since most BrAVO meetings have a dinner or
banquet where the wine flows freely many of us
remember well (or not quite so well) Keith
chatting expansively over a whole variety of
subjects!
All BrAVO members held Keith in
tremendous regard – he was the leader as far as
we were concerned and his contribution to
Veterinary Ophthalmology is so vast as to be
almost incomprehensible!
His passing is a loss to us all.
By Sally Turner, on behalf of the BrAVO Committee
(Christine Heinrich, Claudia Hartley, Jim Carter,
Heidi Featherstone, David Gould, Tim Knott, Rob Lowe and David Williams) and all BrAVO members
Tribute from the Animal Health Trust
Keith founded the Unit of Comparative
Ophthalmology at the Animal Health Trust in
1975. He later established the Centre for Small
Animal Studies (CSAS) and was instrumental in
the development of the CSAS building we have
today. He officially retired in 1996, but his love of
ophthalmology drew him back as a part time
consultant three days a week.
As a man he was charming, placid and
humorous, I have yet to meet anyone who
disliked him. Even if you were having a bad day,
with difficult clients, or patients with depressing
diseases, he could bring out a smile or laugh in
you. He an enormously generous spirit, especially
with his time and experience to the benefit of all
he taught.
I have worked at the Trust for five years,
and Keith and Jane supervised my residency
which I completed in 2007. Keith and I shared a
similar sense of humour, the highlight of my day
would be to achieve one of Keith’s giggles at
something wicked and funny. During several of
his regular ECVO eye certificate clinics we would
sit in the consult room between cases discussing
lesions and nuances of diagnosis. The two of us
would soon end up giggling about some shared
mirth. He was easily recognisable with a full head
of white hair, ruddy cheeks, smiling face and
trademark tweed trousers. He was a big man,
both in stature and reputation. Always
approachable, he is a lesson to all of us in giving
back to our profession for the benefit of us all.
Every person that has met Keith, been
taught by him, or worked alongside him has
gained something special.
The day of his death, he remarked to Jane
how good he was feeling, the best he had for
months. He had thoroughly enjoyed Crufts the
week before, and was telling the Trust’s head
secretary, Karen Bond, about the event. He
commented that he was feeling slightly dizzy and
Karen got him a chair and offered him a glass of
water. He admonished her for fussing, in his
usual Yorkshire way, and continued with his
humorous story. Moments later he slumped in the
chair and lost consciousness. Our anaesthesia
team undertook CPR until the ambulance service
arrived at astonishing speed. He never regained
consciousness and Jane said her final goodbyes to
him at the hospital 40minutes later.
I think the Trust’s heart broke open that
day, a devastating shock and incalculable loss to
every one of us. He did not suffer, and a part of
me thinks he would have been pleased to have
been working up to the day he died, such was his
passion for ophthalmology.
The grief is still raw for all of us,
especially for Jane who shared twenty years of her
life with him. I wish I had known him longer, he
was a lesson to all of us on how to teach, inspire
and be a gentleman.
Claudia Hartley
This Site is maintained in memory of Andrew Hoey - its creator and our friend
