The doctor who loved children and whose healing touch reached far beyond our shores
Dr. Terrence Perera passed away a few weeks ago. He was 89 years. God had blessed him with longevity so he could live 19 years beyond the Biblical span of three score years and ten. He was the son of Isaac and Daisy Perera of Kohilawatte. Mr. Isaac Perera was a senior employee in the Engineering Section of the Colombo Municipal Council.
Dr. Perera received his education at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo, where he carried away several prizes, especially in the Science subjects. After a brilliant school career, he gained admission to the newly created Medical Faculty of the University of Ceylon. He was one of the original students of this faculty. After passing the MBBS examination, he served his internship in Avissawella. He then won a scholarship to study in Britain, where he qualified for the MRCP and passed the Diploma ( Chl).
On returning to Sri Lanka, Dr. Perera became a paediatrician. This was largely because he was very fond of children. As a paediatrician he served in many parts of the island, including the Kalutara and Anuradhapura Base Hospitals.
After serving in the outstations, he was seconded for service at the Ministry of Health. However, he was later selected to be a consultant paediatrician for the World Health Organisation. Based in New Delhi, he rendered yeoman service in Southeast Asia, especially in Vietnam and Cambodia, and also Tibet and Mongolia.
During his more than 30 years with the WHO, Dr. Perera wrote several books on the healthcare of children in Southeast Asia. He returned to Sri Lanka in 1998.
Dr. Perera married Lakshmi Wickremasinghe, daughter of a doctor, in the late 1940s. He and his wife celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in the late 1990s. I was one of those fortunate to attend both their wedding and their golden wedding anniversary. Dr. Perera and Lakshmi have three children – two girls and a boy, all very successful in their careers.
Dr. Perera was very fond of his grandchildren, and spoke of them with great pride. He was especially interested in his granddaughter Christine Sonali Merrill’s athletics career. She was the country’s sole representative in track and field at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where she took part in the 400 metres women’s hurdles. It is a pity Dr. Perera passed away before this event.
Dr. Perera was a practising Christian, and in his retirement was an active member of the Anglican Church of St. Paul’s, Milagiriya. He and his wife endowed four scholarships for needy Anglican children to follow a university education. He and his wife also spent much time working with the poorest of the poor in the slums.
In his association with any fellow human being, Dr. Perera always spoke courteously and conducted himself in a gentlemanly manner.
A large crowd attended the memorial service for Dr. Perera, remembering his life and work, held at St. Paul’s Church, Milagiriya, on August 18.
With the death of Dr. Perera we have lost a gentleman. These words of the poet Longfellow can be applied to his life: “Lives of great men remind us that we must make our lives sublime, and while departing leave behind us footprints in the sands of time.”