Mrs Katalin SCHAMSCHULA (5 June 2002, aged 76 years)

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Kata, as she was known to her friends, was the widow of Dr Rudi Schamschula who was for some years the principal of the Dental College at Port Moresby. While there, her husband became associated with the project initiated by Dr David Barmes, the dental officer at Madang. David had found a village in the Sepik District where the inhabitants were apparently free of dental caries, which was most unusual for the region. The discovery created considerable interest and prompted a variety of research projects - Dr Barmes obtained an appointment at the World Health Organisation in Geneva to direct dental research and Dr Schamschula returned to the Dental Hospital in Sydney where he continued his interest in this unusual dental condition in the Sepik. Kata was a generous hostess and a devoted wife and mother of her two children. She is survived by son Robert, daughter Susan and grandchildren.

Gabriel Keleny (Una Voce - March 2003)