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Obituaries

Melbourne University before joining the Dr Fiona Margaret Proper (Weir 1956) Having graduated in December 1961,
Department of Psychiatry at the Royal 5 May 1938 – 8 September 2020 Fiona undertook her junior residency
Children’s Hospital as a clinical child at the Geelong Hospital in 1962 and
psychologist. during that year met John Proper at
Fiona a party. John, an Englishman, was
For much of the 1970s she worked as a epitomised playing a major role in a touring
psychologist in disadvantaged schools the concept musical comedy. They married on 26
in both the government and Catholic of ‘one of a January 1963 in Trinity/JCH Chapel.
systems, during which she built up a kind’. She After their marriage, Fiona toured New
large collection of children’s drawings spent her Zealand and spent time in Sydney as
and stories, that formed the basis of early years John managed the show ‘Salad Days’.
several of her books. Most significantly, in Terang
she became convinced that the where her John Junior (now a senior Health
conventions for writing in the English grandfather Department pharmacologist) was
language with non-phonetic spelling and was the long-standing local GP, joined born in 1964, Stewart (an orthopaedic
difficult grammar created unnecessary by her father Stewart before her birth. surgeon) in 1965 and Megan (a
complexities for many children and was On the declaration of war, Stewart veterinary surgeon) in 1967. Their
a major cause of illiteracy and social Weir enlisted in the AIF and was killed family home was established in
disadvantage. Val became a vocal in Greece in April 1941. Fiona and her Canterbury and Fiona worked as
advocate of spelling reform and the use mother, Margaret, continued to live in a GP in Glen Iris, with weekends
of phonics in teaching reading. The trend Terang until her GP grandfather died in spent at their 35-acre bush block in
back towards phonics in recent years late 1942, following which the practice Kangaroo Ground. John continued
gave her great satisfaction. and family home were sold. to work in the theatre but branched
out into television management and
In 1978, Val and George left Ormond Margaret Weir obtained a job as a production.
College, to enable George to take up the house-mistress/housekeeper at Austin
Chair of Church History at the University House, for boarders, at The Hermitage In 1990, by which time all three
of Aberdeen, where his grandfather had in Geelong. Fiona’s education was children had completed their degrees,
studied a century before. She reflected at The Hermitage, except for science they moved to far north Queensland,
that her nine years living in a Georgian subjects which she undertook at built a house on 10 acres in Julatten
house in Old Aberdeen were some of Geelong College. Her holidays were and developed a large tropical fruit
the happiest of her life. She worked at spent on farms in the Western District, orchard. Fiona worked as a locum for
the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital her four Weir aunts having married Queensland Health covering hospitals
and was an honorary research fellow locally. In Portland she became a from Dalby to Thursday Island, driving
(Psychology) at Aberdeen University. skilled rider, rabbiter and rabbit-skinner. herself vast distances. With health
problems and ageing they relocated
Following their return to Australia in Fiona commenced medicine and to Cohuna, living on Megan’s family
1988, Val had an honorary position at entered JCH in 1956. She was tall, farm. John died in early 2019 after
Monash University where she completed blonde, very fit and excelled at sport, three years in aged care.
her PhD thesis on ‘Orthography and playing basketball and Australian
Reading, Spelling and Society’ in which Rules football for JCH and inter-varsity Prior to her death, Fiona instructed
she analysed the arguments for and hockey and judo. She was the Victorian her children that she would like her
against spelling reform. Universities’ judo champion, the life celebrated on what would have
Victorian State judo champion and in been her 83rd birthday, 5 May 2021
After George’s death in 2001, Val late 1960 won the Australian Women’s and that the celebration was to take
continued to write prolifically in judo championship. Unfortunately, judo the form of a High Tea at the Windsor
support of many causes, ranging from did not become an Olympic sport until Hotel. On that date seventy-two
conservation, sustainability and the 1964. Fiona passed each year of the relatives and friends from all facets of
environment, social innovation and MBBS with ease. her life assembled for a joyous High
literacy. Tea. The Windsor had trouble getting
She had inherited an A model Ford us to go home.
Following a stroke, Val spent her last and was permitted to park it in JCH
three years living with family. She was grounds. The car, named Bloss, was An unusual, productive and
awarded an OAM posthumously in the spacious, upholstered in leather and well-lived life.
Queen’s Birthday Honours, June 2021, started with a hand crank. The radiator
for services to psychology as a clinician boiled frequently and leaked. We came Dr E. Anne Shanahan (1955)
and author. to know every horse water trough in
the Melbourne CBD. Imagine ‘the
Val was a much loved and loving ladies’ of JCH, complete with high
mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, heels, gloves and hats, bucketing water
great grandmother, aunt and great aunt, into a boiling radiator in the middle of a
and friend. Her memory is cherished. major thoroughfare.

Esther Anderson (Yule)

J anet Clarke Hall 43