Lady Elizabeth Stewart, a distinguished radiation and public health specialist, died in Dundee on February 28 aged 73.
She had been an eminent oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London before being recruited to work in public health at the Department of Health in Whitehall.
Elizabeth, who often spoke of her love for Dundee, was the wife of Sir William Stewart, former chairman of Ninewells Hospital and a former chief scientific adviser to the UK Government.
Although born in London, Elizabeth had historic connections with Dundee.
Explorers
Her great uncle, Aspley Cherry Garrard had been a member of Captain Robert Scott’s two expeditions to Antarctica on the Dundee-built Discovery and Terra Nova.
Elizabeth was born into a medical family so it was no surprise that she became a doctor, training at University College London.
Dundee was her home for the past 23 years when, on marriage, she moved to Scotland.
Training abroad
An internationalist by nature and outlook and with a quiet, mischievous sense of humour, Elizabeth spent her early childhood in New York, senior schooling in Wales and, as a fledgling doctor, worked in hospitals in India and in Finland.
After marriage and her move to Dundee, she quickly settled into the community.
She greatly enjoyed Tayside Dance Club and Claverhouse Rotary events with her husband.
Language
Elizabeth was a former president of Dundee University Ladies Club and was a member of Dundee Highland Society where, together with her frequent visits to Islay and to Barra, she learnt a smattering of Gaelic, including some naughty words about the weather on the west coast of Scotland.
She was always at her husband’s side whether meeting dignitaries when he was president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and at Whitehall events in London, or when watching Dundee United at Tannadice on a Saturday afternoon.
Football
On occasion she also acted as the taxi driver when Bill and his son went off to the pub before matches.
She was a keen gardener, an avid book reader and enjoyed opera.
“Being able to simply walk down Perth Road on a Saturday night to watch opera productions beamed direct from New York to the DCA was always a particular pleasure,” she told her husband.
Illness
A caring mother, wife and grandmother, it is ironic that Elizabeth died of brain cancer, because as a young doctor she had spent many years treating cancer patients as a radiotherapist at the Royal Marsden Hospital.
Her expertise in radiation resulted in her being subsequently recruited by the Department of Health in Whitehall at a time when expertise in radiation was badly needed because of the public health impact of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Elizabeth took the UK health lead on international visits to the Chernobyl area itself, as well as on associated radiation incidents in the UK.
Love of life
Sir William said: “The following are Elizabeth’s own words.”
‘I had a wonderful life in Dundee and travelling with Bill on work or vacation to all five continents.
“I love Dundee, why live anywhere else. It’s a progressive city with friendly people, facing south overlooking the Tay and with beautiful country all around.
“We appreciated that as age caught up, getting down to Broughty Ferry might be as far, eventually, as we would go.’
Surrounded by her husband and children, Katharine and Michael, Elizabeth died peacefully at Roxburghe House.