AJTCCM VOL. 31 NO. 1 2025 41
OBITUARY
Eric has sadly been taken away from us
far too soon. In writing this obituary, I am
very aware of how much he achieved in his
life, and how much he touched the lives of
so many people around the world. Eric was
a brilliant academic and researcher, with
several hundred academic publications and
numerous awards and accolades. So much so
that in his later years no one really introduced
him when he spoke at meetings; we all knew
him and what he had achieved, and we were
already paying attention – because it was Eric.
Eric wore many hats throughout his life,
and I was privileged to see him in many
of them. As a child I spent many early
mornings drinking tea in the Bateman
kitchen (everything happens in the kitchen)
before heading out to various running races.
Eric has the most impressive running record,
with gold medals in the Comrades and Two
Oceans marathons, and personal best times
that his registrars only ever dreamed of. He
gardened and xed up their Park Road house
– but also their family holiday home in Betty’s
Bay, never far from a spade and wheelbarrow
or a paintbrush and ladder. The A-rated
scientist planting grass and moving bricks.
However, Eric did not like surng or riding
bicycles.
Eric taught and lectured as a master
craftsman, having rigorously distilled the
data, made his own slides to represent the
published data, and provided insights and
understanding that very few I have ever heard
lecture could match. He was also interested
in the ‘How and why?’ and often had the
background story as to how things came
about or why things were like they were, and
knew that little extra bit of information that
made the rest all make sense.
Eric was a clinician first and foremost,
and his scribbly handwriting is still present
in many respiratory clinic patient notes. An
83-year-old patient I saw today remembers
Eric from the early eighties, his notes all
over her thick respiratory le. One memory
of Eric from clinic speaks to his skill and
understanding of respiratory disease. As a
registrar in clinic, I presented what I thought
was a slam dunk case – listing all the clinical
history, with the related signs and how they
linked, and ultimately condently proclaimed
my diagnosis. He reflected on each of the
points I had made, subtly adjusted the
links between them, and came up with an
altogether dierent (correct) diagnosis.
Eric was patient, humble and diplomatic
to a fault, and on only a few occasions did
I see him break and, choosing his words
carefully (which he always did), bring an
awkward situation to an end. A young
company representative was sharing some
new trial data with our research team,
dutifully explaining the various aspects of
the trials (as they probably had been taught
from a standard memo), the exacerbations,
the medications, etc. Aer about 5 minutes
of these ramblings, Eric nally could not take
the butchering of data, misinterpretation
and poor representation of the trial. He
politely pointed out that this was his trial,
succinctly summarised the key points, and
we moved on. Eric did not choose the stage,
or crave the spotlight, but he would always
speak up when the scientic accuracy and
conclusions were not on point.
Eric was also extremely generous with his
time and knowledge. Hewas always busy,
so you might have to wait, or try to bribe
Ursula for an earlier appointment, but such
was the nature of Eric – the sound advice,
clear evaluation of the work/problem, and
encouragement were worth waiting for. I am
sure it helped that he needed only a few hours
of sleep, could cross time zones like a skilled
Ninja, and could work late into the night.
One evening during an ICU call as medical
ocer, I needed assistance with a scope. Eric
duly arrived in the ICU wearing his sheepskin
slippers, having been working late at the Lung
Institute. is was Eric – so very normal, yet
so completely extraordinary.
All of us will have unique and fond
memories of Eric, as he touched so many lives
around the world – this is just who he was. He
somehow managed to hold this global status,
alongside his sheepskin slippers with a cup of
tea in hand, with such grace that you would
never know. This was Eric – respiratory
pioneer, advocate, warrior, visionary, family
man, friend, runner and tea drinker. His
legacy lives on in innumerable academic
outputs, but probably more so in the lives of
his family, colleagues and patients.
Richard van Zyl Smit
Professor in Pulmonology, Division of Pulmonology
and UCT Lung Institute,
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of Cape Town and Groote
Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
Prof. Eric Bateman: 1947 - 2024
Professor Eric Bateman.
