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Obituary Jack Hoare
by Ilse Pedler
It is with great sadness that we heard of the passing of Jack on 30th December 2020. He was a hugely important figure in the veterinary homeopathic community in the UK and was a staunch supporter of BAHVS from the beginning.
There was a lovely obituary of him in the Veterinary Record on 13th Feb 2021 written by John Bower who was a fellow student at Liverpool in the 1960’s. It gives some details of his background, which I’m sure John wouldn’t mind me sharing here.
Jack was born on 22nd April 1934 and was one of five children and grew up in Hayes, Middlesex. He joined the RAF in 1952 and signed up for 8 years rather that the usual two years of National Service because the pay was higher, which meant he could send money home to his recently widowed mother and four siblings.
He started at Liverpool vet school in 1960, standing out from his fellow students not only as he was eight years older but also because he sported an impressive handlebar moustache! He played a full part in university life including as goalkeeper in the Liverpool second football team, the hockey team and he formed the Abercrombie Croquet Club.
He met Liz, his future wife, in his final year and they married shortly after he graduated.
His first job was in mixed practice in Salisbury, where he unfortunately caught TB and was quite ill. After that he decided it might be better to work with small animals and worked in practices in London and Portsmouth before opening his own practice in Bristol.
He was initially skeptical of
homeopathy but as we all
know went on to develop a
passion for it, practising it
alongside conventional prac-
tice for many years. He
gained his Vet MFHom in 1993, taught at the Bristol Homeopathic Hospital and was president of BAHVS from 2004–2007. He wrote three books ‘Repertory of Veterinary Homeopathy’, ‘Natural Dog Care’ and ‘Natural Cat Care’
He and Liz moved to Lyme Regis in 1999 and despite being supposedly retired he established a referral only practice which he carried on until 2008. In retirement he continued to play croquet, became a volunteer miller at the local flour mill and as we know maintained a keen
interest in anything homeopathic, contributing regularly to our web forum conversations. You could guarantee that his observations were always interesting, informative and often made you think about a subject from a different perspective.
He was very much a family man and was looking forward to the birth of his third grandchild when he unfortunately contracted Covid and died after a short illness. He is survived by his wife Liz; four children, Brian, Rupert, Sarah and Rachael and two grandchildren.
We shall all miss him. He was a kind and gentle man, always ready for a chat at the bar at conferences, dedicated to homeopathy and unwaveringly supportive of BAHVS
and especially new members as they went through their training. He was also never afraid to speak up for homeopathy and was involved in an important study on Atopy in dogs run in conjunction with Bristol Vet School.
I didn’t know him as well as some but I shall remember him with that twinkle in his eye, a pint in his hand and the still impressive moustache. We will be making an annual award in his name. We thought it fitting that it will be an engraved tankard and hope to make the first presentation at our next conference.
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