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HUGH ANDERSON

HUGH JOHN ANDERSON Passed peacefully away on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at the Health Sciences Centre, St. John's, NL. Hugh John Anderson was born on March 17, 1926 in Winnipeg, the son of Hugh C. and Margaret H. (Nell) Anderson. After attending Kelvin High School he took the Honors Chemistry program at the University of Manitoba. Following graduation he was asked to combine his Master's research and courses with full-time teaching elementary chemistry as a junior lecturer for two academic years. He then entered the doctoral program in organic chemistry at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois as The Texas Company Research Fellow. He then spent a year at Oxford University as a combined National Research Council Overseas Postdoctoral Fellow and Corday Morgan Commonwealth Fellow of the Chemical Society of London. In September, 1953 Hugh Anderson returned to Canada and joined the chemistry department of the Memorial University of Newfoundland where he spent the rest of his career, during which the student enrollment rose from 600 to about 16,000. He served the university on many committees over the years, especially as chair of the Senate Graduate Studies Committee during the establishment of several masters programs and the beginning of the doctoral program. At Memorial he published over thirty research papers in synthetic organic chemistry, review articles, and the chapter of a book. Most were in collaboration with his chemistry colleague, Charles Loader. However, he was largely known for his teaching of the first organic chemistry course In 1981 he was presented with the Union Carbide Award of the Chemical Institute of Canada for his teaching. Hugh Anderson retired in 1991 after 38 years on the faculty and was made Professor Emeritus. He was honored by a former student in having an undergraduate chemistry scholarship named after him. Cremation has taken place. There will be no visitation or service. Interment will take place at Brookside Memorial Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Arrangements entrusted to Carnell's Funeral Home, 329 Freshwater Rd., St. John's, NL. To send a message of condolence or sign the memorial guest book, please visit www.carnells.com.

As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on June 30, 2012