Dr. O. C. (Chris) Raffel, who passed away on March 30, emigrated with his family to Australia in 1975. There must be hundreds of people in Colombo who will remember him as the most devoted of doctors, and perhaps a smaller number will recall, at least by name and reputation, his father, Dr. E. L. (Lawrie) Raffel, who founded the Raffel dispensary and surgery in Wellawatte, where Chris worked for more than 20 years.
When Chris Raffel set up practice in Sydney, he distinguished himself as a truly dedicated doctor, standing out from the run of general practitioners. His practice there expanded rapidly. The Eastwood area where he settled became a popular destination for Lankan migrants.
I remember how amused he was at the sheer surprise on the faces of his Sydney-Lankan patients, many of whom had never even heard of the Sri Lanka Burgher community, on hearing this fair-skinned doctor addressing them in fluent Sinhala or Tamil.
Others will mourn the loss of an incomparable friend, someone who radiated a steady warmth, rather than a brilliant glare. These qualities perfectly complemented the very different qualities of his wife Carmel. Between the two of them, the couple provided their friends with excellent company, fellowship and hospitality, – a privilege that will be remembered with gratitude by all who experienced it.
I have no doubt that it was his response to Chris and Carmel Raffel’s exemplary qualities that inspired the late Geoffrey Bawa, one of their closest friends, to design for them a house of great beauty, in which music and the visual arts enhanced the loving kindness that enveloped all who crossed its threshold.
In Australia, the Raffels had no Geoffrey Bawa at their disposal, but Carmel showed a genius for creating beauty in unpromising situations, while Chris acquired new skills, such as tending the garden and eventually cooking. Their human qualities glowed as warmly south of the equator as they had in the north.
Chris was a true family man, and became a surrogate father to the children of his brother Allan and cousin Lorenz, both of whom died too young. Chris will be remembered with great love by Allan and Lorenz’s children, as well as his own three children – Adam, Suhanya and Lahiru – and his four grandchildren.
Iranganie Serasinghe |
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