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| Friday, 13 June 2003 |
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Former Thomian Warden de Alwis passes away by Richard Dwight It is with regret that we record the passing away of the former Warden of S. Thomas' College, Neville de Alwis, who was also at one time the President of the Schools Cricket Association and, an ardent supporter of all forms of sport, fine arts and culture that touched the life of the school by the sea, which was close to his heart. He was suddenly taken ill and passed away peacefully in the early hours of yesterday at the age of 65. To Warden De Alwis went the distinction of having served the college for the third longest period, that of 15 years, indeed a labour of love with sheer dedication and commitment. De Alwis was appointed Warden of S. Thomas' on January 1, 1983 and was officially instituted and installed, at a ceremony on January 19 the same year as the 15th Warden of one of the country's best-known public schools by the Rt. Rev. Swithin Fernando, the then Bishop of Colombo. He has been an old boy and a member of the staff on two separate occasions. He taught at S. Thomas' during Canon R. S. de Saram's final year as Warden, after which he proceeded to obtain his degree, with the rare combination of classics and Sinhala. His second stint as a teacher for two years before securing his LLB and LLM was under Warden Davidson. The invitation to be Warden of S. Thomas' was made to him when he was holding positions of responsibility in the Attorney General's and Legal Draftsman's Departments. S. Thomas during his tenure has not only seen progress in the classroom and the sports field, but also by way of additional buildings and in the improvement of the landscape of the college campus. Neville was a sober, disciplined man who took pains to encourage the activities of the chapel. His first love however was sports and under his guidance, cricket, rugger and water sports thrived. His pride and boast was the coming into be of the 'indoor sports complex' which he regarded as his 'magnum opus' not forgetting as well the indoor cricket nets and his taking for the first time a Thomian cricket team on tour to UK. It is difficult to assess and gauge his contribution to S. Thomas', perhaps the future will, life's pain and strife has ended for a true Thomian may his soul rest in peace. He is survived by his wife Sweenitha, son Nimantha and daughter Surani. |
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