THE funeral has taken place of Dr George Stewart Duncan, a retired Ryde GP, who died at the age of 85.
Dr Duncan, widely known as Stewart, was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, where his father worked for Shell Oil.
The family returned to England in 1939, where he had a mixed schooling, including evacuation to Wells, Somerset. He finished his education at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex.
He entered Guy’s Hospital Medical School in 1950, qualified in 1956 and became casualty officer/orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Chichester, followed by posts in the West Country.
His career in general practice took him to Dartmouth, then Havant, before obtaining a single-handed vacancy in Ryde.
The Esplanade Practice grew in 25 years to five doctors and 15 staff. Additionally, he worked as a hospital practitioner in anaesthetics and had a special interest in practice management, as well as teaching trainees, students and practice staff.
He was among the first doctors in England to hire a practice nurse and then a practice manager.
He sat on the Wessex Faculty Board of the Royal College of General Practitioners for 22 years and was vice-chairman for three years and then chairman for another three.
He also sat on the IW Local Medical Committee for several years and many of its sub committees.
He passed his Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists diploma in 1959 and was elected fellow in 1980, of which he was very proud.
He was the Island’s police surgeon for 18 years.
In 1985, he decided on a change of direction and became the staff medical officer to the Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth, and obtained a clinical assistantship in psycho-geriatrics.
On the closure of the naval hospital, he was a busy GP locum in the area.
In 1994, he returned to the Island and was immediately persuaded to work almost continually as a locum for the Island prisons, from which he finally retired at the age of 72 in 2002.
He married Georgina Delahaye in 1958 and in 1989 his second marriage, to Valerie Maasz, took place.
He was a member of Ryde Round Table and Plymouth and Ryde 41 Club.
Other interests were gardening, bridge, old motor vehicles and his dogs, being especially interested in bulldogs.
In later years, he travelled extensively, mainly on cruise ships, but often on inland waterways, which were his preferred form of transport.
Ill-health in recent years prevented him from pursuing his hobbies, although friends and family provided a source of comfort and joy.
He leaves his wife, Valerie, two sons by his first marriage, Ian and Robert, and step-children, Adrian and Carolyn.
The funeral service took place at the Church of the Holy Cross, Binstead, on Wednesday last week.