Summer Issue, 2013

89 Rev Fr Alvaro Ribeiro S. J. 1947 – 2013 (BA 1969) Riccian,Warden of Ricci Hall 1990-1991 Alvaro was grateful and he showed it in the joyful way he lived, the exuberance I have already mentioned, his deep appreciation for beauty, for friendship, for the life of the mind. And he had so much to be grateful for: a close and loving family; friends from his youth at St. Joseph’s College and Ricci Hall in Hong Kong, with whom he stayed in regular and frequent touch all of his life. And friends from Oxford and Montreal, New Haven and Dublin, Weston and Georgetown; a vast circle of friends and acquaintances who will be devastated by his untimely loss, vbut so numerous one scarcely knows how to communicate it to them all. And then, of course, the intellectual brilliance of the man, one of the most intellectually gifted people I have ever met. He knew, of course, modern English literature backwards and forwards, from Shakespeare, whom he could declaim at length with appropriate theatrical gesture and intonation, to all the entries on the latest Booker Prize list. And music! It only took him listening to a couple of bars of any classical piece on the radio to tell you composer and composition. And so much talent! Unlike many scholars, he was performative as well scholarly, and could act or sing a passage as well as explain it to you. And a superb teacher; one of the best I have ever witnessed, who cared deeply about his subject matter and his students, and believed passionately that he could enrich their lives through what he taught them. Excerpt from the homily by Father Jeffrey von Arx S. J. President, Fairfield University Friend of Father Ribeiro for over 40 years Ernest Low 1927 – 2013 (BSc (Eng) 1950) Ernest Low was an engineering graduate. He was a member of the first intake of students after World War II. His first two years were spent at Ricci Hall and he moved to Morrison Hall in 1948. After he was elected Chairman, he led the Hall with distinction particularly in the sporting field. He was also Chairman of the Athletic Association (Sports Association, HKU Students’ Union) in 1948/49. After graduation in 1950, he went to British North Borneo (Sabah), and worked at a few civil engineering and architecture projects. He spent three happy years there, and then went to London to study Geotechnology at the Imperial College. With higher qualifications, his consultant work took him to projects in many countries, including Ethiopia, Guyana, Saudi Arabia, Iran and India. Some of these appointments were involved with massive projects, such as the Aswan High Dam of Egypt and the Mangla Dam of Pakistan. He also had an office in Hong Kong, and during those years, he was instrumental in establishing the Hong Kong Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. This was achieved with the assistance of the legal fraternity. Ernest was born in Hankow (漢口) . He was a reserved man and was always polite and generous. He was a devout Anglican and a Freemason. Helping young men and women on the brink of choosing their careers was one of his delights. He had three younger brothers, Robert, Arthur and Gordon, all graduates of the University. He died from cancer in April, 2013. He is survived by a daughter, Alison, and her husband. In Memoriam