MB BCH BAO MD (NUI) DCH (London)Desmond Denis OSullivan died peacefully at home on 27 July 2010.Born in Dublin Ireland in 1918, he was the fourth child in a family of five. One son died in infancy and the three remaining sons all became doctors.As a child Des lived for a time in Phoenix Park Dublin, a 2000-acre piece of real estate in the city, which houses the President of the Republic, some embassies, police houses and caters for practically every sport. His father was in charge of training recruits for the mounted police. It was an ideal place for running the horses each morning.Des was educated at the Christian Brothers College in Dublin and did tertiary studies at the National University of Ireland, Dublin, completing his MB BCH BAO in 1942.After finishing his studies he went to England where he worked at Crumpsall Hospital before doing locums at Blakely Manchester and Keswick in the Lake District. The latter practice belonged to a Dr Wakefield who had gone with the British Expedition to Mt Everesthis second attempt. In the setting of the Peak District Des quickly became a devotee of climbing. It was the aspiration of all climbers to climb 12 peaks in a day.Another locum in Sussex brought his visit to England to a close. At this point in time Des returned to NUI to do a Masters Degree which he received in 1947.Shortly after, his brother Jack saw a job vacancy for a doctor to join the NZ J-Force in Japan. Des was a successful applicant and after being kitted out in London, Captain OSullivan flew in a Sunderland flying boat to Japan. This flight took 2 weeks. Instead of returning to London at the end of his term, he persuaded the authorities that the New Zealand troops might need a doctor on their voyage home. So he accompanied the soldiers on their return journey.Des joined J-Force doctors at Wanganui Hospital before doing locums in the South Island. In the North Island he took up locums at Cambridge, Wellsford and Browns Bay, finally buying the Browns Bay practice on the North Shore.Early in 1955 Des returned to England, this time to do a Postgraduate Degree in Child Health (London).On his return to New Zealand he fully intended to sell up and return to Ireland, but it was then he met a teacher, Anne Mooney, who became his wife in 1957.Over the years his sporting interests were rugby, tennis, golf, sailing, snow-skiing, water-skiing, and walking. Groups which gave him great pleasure were Rotary (a Paul Harris Fellow) U3A and ESOL. He was passionate about history, literature and travel to distant lands.Des lived a long life, in fact he is somewhat of a modern miracle when you consider he suffered his first heart attack in 1979. A testament to both the standard of medical care he received and in no small part to his own medical expertise. He is survived by wife Anne, daughter Maura, sons Donal, Joseph and Gerard. Anne OSullivan wrote this obituary (since Des outlived most of his contempories this was compiled from his memoirs).

MB BCH BAO MD (NUI) DCH (London)Desmond Denis OSullivan died peacefully at home on 27 July 2010.Born in Dublin Ireland in 1918, he was the fourth child in a family of five. One son died in infancy and the three remaining sons all became doctors.As a child Des lived for a time in Phoenix Park Dublin, a 2000-acre piece of real estate in the city, which houses the President of the Republic, some embassies, police houses and caters for practically every sport. His father was in charge of training recruits for the mounted police. It was an ideal place for running the horses each morning.Des was educated at the Christian Brothers College in Dublin and did tertiary studies at the National University of Ireland, Dublin, completing his MB BCH BAO in 1942.After finishing his studies he went to England where he worked at Crumpsall Hospital before doing locums at Blakely Manchester and Keswick in the Lake District. The latter practice belonged to a Dr Wakefield who had gone with the British Expedition to Mt Everesthis second attempt. In the setting of the Peak District Des quickly became a devotee of climbing. It was the aspiration of all climbers to climb 12 peaks in a day.Another locum in Sussex brought his visit to England to a close. At this point in time Des returned to NUI to do a Masters Degree which he received in 1947.Shortly after, his brother Jack saw a job vacancy for a doctor to join the NZ J-Force in Japan. Des was a successful applicant and after being kitted out in London, Captain OSullivan flew in a Sunderland flying boat to Japan. This flight took 2 weeks. Instead of returning to London at the end of his term, he persuaded the authorities that the New Zealand troops might need a doctor on their voyage home. So he accompanied the soldiers on their return journey.Des joined J-Force doctors at Wanganui Hospital before doing locums in the South Island. In the North Island he took up locums at Cambridge, Wellsford and Browns Bay, finally buying the Browns Bay practice on the North Shore.Early in 1955 Des returned to England, this time to do a Postgraduate Degree in Child Health (London).On his return to New Zealand he fully intended to sell up and return to Ireland, but it was then he met a teacher, Anne Mooney, who became his wife in 1957.Over the years his sporting interests were rugby, tennis, golf, sailing, snow-skiing, water-skiing, and walking. Groups which gave him great pleasure were Rotary (a Paul Harris Fellow) U3A and ESOL. He was passionate about history, literature and travel to distant lands.Des lived a long life, in fact he is somewhat of a modern miracle when you consider he suffered his first heart attack in 1979. A testament to both the standard of medical care he received and in no small part to his own medical expertise. He is survived by wife Anne, daughter Maura, sons Donal, Joseph and Gerard. Anne OSullivan wrote this obituary (since Des outlived most of his contempories this was compiled from his memoirs).