Member of the NZ Order of Merit; MBChB 1956; Dip Obst 1967; FRNZCGP 1991 (10 August 1932 - 11 June 2012)Peter was born in Stratford, Taranaki, the eldest of Olympic javelin thrower Stan and Ngaio Lay's four children. He started school at Stratford Primary and was dux of Vogeltown, New Plymouth. His secondary schooling was at New Plymouth Boy's High where he excelled academically, in sport and as a leader. My first glimpse of him was at Nelson College when he visited as Captain of the Cricket First XI, as an elegant and effective batsman. Later while at medical school in Dunedin I remember him hitting a golf ball at Balmacewan Golf Course dead straight and almost ‘out of sight'. Peter was serious about contract bridge from an early age. As a resident of the 6th year students' quarters at Wellington Hospital in 1956 he encouraged other students to play and was a clear and patient teacher. I also recall something of his style in preparing for final examinations. One day I saw him stretched out on the living room couch reading Brain's Diseases of the Nervous System, the hefty bible of neurology, like a novel! I first saw Peter and Margaret together at the house surgeons quarters in 1957, the year before their marriage. The occasion would I think have been before a ball. They were a truly stunning pair, Peter tall and very handsome, Margaret exquisitely beautiful and blonde. I was also impressed by the knowledge that they had been keenly competitive in first-year science studies in Dunedin. Peter had intended a career in orthopaedics but when serving out a second year of a medical bursary, as the sole general practitioner in the Special Area practice based at Collingwood, Golden Bay, he enjoyed the challenge and lifestyle. He then, to Margaret's surprise, suddenly bought a practice at Kaponga, Taranaki where he had spent childhood holidays and gone to school briefly. That was to last 10 years but extended to 40. He was not renowned for a conventional ‘bedside manner' but his patients ‘knew' they were cared for and the standard of the medical care he provided, was excellent and comprehensive. He clearly took into account all relevant aspects of his patient's illness, family and life situation. And he kept up-to-date. Kaponga, during the earlier years still had a maternity hospital. Through most of his time in practice he continued to deliver babies, some 2000 in all. He took time in 1967 to do the Diploma in Obstetrics at Auckland Hospital, and very much valued a close association over the years with Stratford obstetrician, Ross Gordon. He also enjoyed friendship and the ability to cover for each other, with Dr Ken Fox after he arrived at nearby Manaia. If there was a motor accident or an accident on the ‘Mountain' [Mt Taranaki], Peter would go. It was understood in the family that medicine came first and it was hard on his family at times. He always gave more than 150%. But there were compensations too. He shared with Margaret a great love in developing the beautiful extensive garden of their Kaponga home. As a Medical Officer of Special Scale he was appointed as Visiting Physician to the Hawera Hospital, a position he held for 30 years and helped to establish and operate a local cardiology unit. There were changes over time with the shutting down, after many battles to keep it open, of the little Kaponga Maternity Hospital; practising from rooms provided by the district rather than from home and the development of outreach from the Taranaki Base Hospital at New Plymouth. But until the day he retired, he continued to run a coherent rural general practice. It was a sad day for the district when ‘Dr Peter' left. Community Service: Peter's abilities and energy also meant he contributed much more than just service to his patients. In 1964 he became a member, then chairman of the Kaponga Town Council. In the late 70s he was on the Eltham Council. He was chairman of the board of St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls, Stratford in the 1980s. He was a Life Member of Kaponga Fire Brigade and Life Member of the Kaponga Cricket Team. He was medical adviser the Order of St John and to the Egmont racing and Hawera trotting clubs. Other Interests and Sport: Peter was a passionate gardener and together with Margaret created a beautiful garden which they often opened for charities and later the Taranaki Rhododendron Festival. It was a wonderful hobby to have when at home ‘tied to the telephone'. My daughter, when little, wistfully eyed the pony grazing over the back fence and wondered if I was the "same kind of doctor as Dr Lay". Peter played bridge at Hawera and later he and Margaret played together at Stratford and New Plymouth. Peter was a fine cricketer. He won a University Blue at Otago, and a Cap for the University of New Zealand. He captained the Kaponga Cricket Team and played a few games for Taranaki but couldn't continue because of medical commitments. He was of course also a low handicap golfer. However in a note to the organising committee of the medical class reunion in 1991 he wrote that his golf ‘got worse every year'. My long-time golfing partner and I still recall the time, around then, when standing on the 265m elevated 6th tee of Wellington's hilly Ohariu Valley Club Peter casually took out a driver and hit the ball over the tall trees that then guarded the deep gully immediately in front of the green. To no-one's surprise it came to rest within easy reach of the hole! Peter loved his golf and continued to play regularly with a group of friends, including the late Dr Warren Muirhead, at New Plymouth after retirement. He was an avid reader and loved listening to classical music. He was a keen and capable photographer. He was interested in advances in technology and one of the first doctors to computerise his records. It was great for Peter to have Mt Taranaki on his doorstep, where he could go tramping and botanising. Margaret says he took some excellent plant photographs. Awards: In 1991 Peter was made a Fellow of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and in 1998 was honoured with Membership of The New Zealand Order of Merit for services to medicine and the community. He retired at the end of 1999 and tragically his elder daughter Katherine, a much loved teacher of mathematics at New Plymouth Girl's High School died the following year of breast cancer. The Kaponga property was sold in 2001 and the Lays moved to New Plymouth. Margaret believes that Peter never really recovered from these losses. His health deteriorated grievously over the last 3 years of his life. It seems likely and poignant, that in the earlier part of this time he would have known exactly what was happening to him. Margaret supported him with tenacity and love through this extraordinarily difficult period. Peter is survived by his wife Margaret, daughter Judith, son Richard and six grandchildren. Ian McDougall of Wellington (retired psychiatrist and MOH for Taranaki 1962-63; a classmate and long-time friend of Peter) wrote this obituary.