Dr. Sunil Fernando An appreciation by Kumar Gunawardene

A perfect gentleman and a distinguished professional Dr Sunil Nihal Fernando (Sn)

December 15, 2018, 6:45 pm 

I was deeply saddened by the demise recently of my classmate and good friend SN. We had been close at STC Mt Lavinia and renewed our friendship during my periodic visits to SriLanka. His passing away in October 2018 climaxed my own "annus horribilis"

Andrew Marvell’s immortal words , slightly modified could have been written for SN.

‘He did nothing common or mean upon his memorable life ; a life of academic brilliance and professional excellence- but most importantly a life of pure and simple goodness.

We first met in the hallowed classrooms of the ‘school by the sea’. He had moved from the Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, and joined us in the College Form (GCE advanced level). Having been at STC from the second standard, I had my own circle of friends , but we bonded immediately; he struck a chord with his quiet but friendly demeanour and charming smile.

At Prince of Wales he epitomized the truism that the child is the father of the man; he was first in every class and achieved double promotions and also a first division in the GCE ordinary level.

An outstanding student at STC too he won prizes for chemistry, botany and zoology and was awarded the coveted Warden Stone memorial scholarship in recognition of his general performance at school. He also excelled in Athletics and Cadetting and represented his alma mater in both.

SN was altruistic to his mates. While  some us either dozed in the class  lulled by the gentle sea breezes or were mesmerized by the ambidextrous artistry or booming tones of our zoology teacher, Brooke D’ Silva, he would painstakingly  take down notes. These he would share with us later. Always a loyal Thomian, he would attend ,old boys’ functions and revel in the company of his contemporaries. One of his cherished possessions was a photograph of him with four other Thomians who were Presidents of their respective professional Colleges in the same year; ( Drs D.N.Athukorale, L.R.Amarasekare, Ranjan Fernando and Dayasiri Fernando); perhaps an unparalleled attainment .It was dubbed the year of the Thomians. This picture was prominently displayed in his consulting room.

Five of our class got the nod for the viva voce examination for entry to medical school. He was undoubtedly the best amongst this motley lot. But for some unknown reason, he was offered dentistry. Deeply disappointed he was determined to sit the University entrance examination again. Our sagacious physics teacher, Mr S.J.Anandanayagam, however persuaded him otherwise. What an astute decision it was. For SN had a meteoric rise to the top of his profession.

He quickly made a mark in dental school amongst teachers and students, and qualified BDS from the University of Peradeniya in 1966. Fellowship was obtained in 1972.Subsequently important experience was gained, as a prelude to an illustrious career, in august London institutions, including St Bartholomew’s,  Guys and  the Institute of Dental Surgery of the University of London and later at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Amongst his prestigious mentors was Professor R.A.Cawson of the Guy’s hospital.

Returning to Sri Lanka he served as a consultant at the General Hospitals of Ratnapura, Kandy, Galle, Colombo South and finally the National Hospital Colombo.

In addition to his onerous duties he was a Wing Commander (Volunteer) of the SL Air Force and a medical board panel member of the SriLankan Airlines.

I’m personally aware that he was held in high esteem by his peers, juniors and other staff. I was an indirect beneficiary of this whenever he referred me to a colleague. I was treated with utmost courtesy and care. He would always preface his referral letters with "Kumar is a good friend of mine since our days at the school by the sea."

His passions outside of work were first and foremost the family, the church, advancement of dentistry in Sri Lanka and postgraduate dental education.

His wife of 48 years, Malkanthi, was a great source of strength to him in all matters, but particularly in fulfilling his professional commitments. She was abundantly living proof of the adage that behind every successful man is a wise and accomplished wife. She was of great help to me in writing this.

They were blessed with two affectionate daughters, Shehani and Shanika, and two equally affectionate sons in law, Rohantha Seneviratne and Malik de Soysa. In fact they were always referred to as sons. Malik, a cardio-thoracic surgeon supervised the management of SN’s final illness.

His greatest delight in later years was his grandchildren Ranukshi Sarita and the two children of Shanika and Malik. I have seen his face light up when any of them wandered into the consulting room. His features would be an amalgam of love, joy and pride. Their paintings adorned the walls of his office conspicuously.

Malkanthi told me that she would often notice lights burning in his office well into the night. Being the dutiful spouse she was, she would go to check whether he had fallen asleep. He was wide awake perusing the children’s books and home work to teach them the next day.

A deeply religious man he was a warden in his church, St Paul’s Milagiriya and would lead the services on a roster basis.

His endeavours in furthering the cause of excellence in dentistry are almost too numerous to mention but nevertheless must be recorded.

In the Sri Lanka Dental Association he was the chair at its 16th anniversary. This coincided with the first ever South Asian Dental Congress of which he presided over the organizing committee. He was also the chair of the annual scientific sessions of the SLDA 1991-1993 and also in 1996 and 1997. In recognition of this he was awarded a Honorary Fellowship of the International College of Continuing Dental Education.

He was, along with Dr Asoka Ratnayake, the first joint secretary of the college of dentistry and stomatology from 1994 to 1996; and subsequently the president 1998 to 1999.

Along with Professor M.T.M. Jiffrey he organized the first officially recognized course in basic sciences for the part one masters course (MS) in dental surgery.

In the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine  he was a member of the board of study ,

in dental surgery from its inception up to the late 1990s.

He was an examiner for the MS parts one and two for several years and also an external examiner for the BDS for a number of years.

In the Sri Lankan Association of Aesthetic and Cosmetic Dentistry, he was a member of the board of governors from its inception in 2004 and actively participated in its annual scientific sessions.

A most notable characteristic of SN was his generosity to his friends and I’m sure many others. I would visit him for professional services, each time I returned. He was always very caring and scrupulous but would refuse to accept a fee. I had to repeat to him that I too was in private practice and knew how heavy the overheads were.

Finally I would leave cash on his desk and run out of the room before he had a chance to catch me. Our antics were a great source of amusement to his loyal and longstanding nurse assistant Indrani. Like the chief, she  was very kind to me and would somehow get an appointment convenient to me.

SN was an exceptional human being

"A good  heart has stopped beating; a good soul has ascended to heaven.

May he Rest In Peace.

May the Good Earth lie softly on him"

Kumar Gunawardane

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