Newton Joseph Fernandes

Sept 9 1936 - Sept 17 1993

A Tribute to a loving and protective son

The inexorable hands of time have ticked 25 years on 17th September 2018 since our beloved Newton Joseph Fernandes answered the Divine call. He was the son of the late Constancio Floriano Fernandes and the late Maria Esperenca Jovita Fernandes, both of Carxetta, Velim, Salcete, Goa.

After completing his education at the Dr. Ribeiro Goan School in Nairobi, Kenya, he graduated at St. Xavier's College, Bombay and awarded a BSc degree. He worked for the Wellcome Research Institute in Kenya, where with his team he was determined to use his skills to find a vaccine for Foot and Mouth diseases in cattle. From here, he acquired a Fellowship to study for MSc degree at the University of Minnesota, U.S.A., thereafter a Doctorate at the George Washington University, U.S.A.

His first assignment through the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation was Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and then to several under-developed countries. He made a meritorious contribution to science through his field of Microbiology, Immunology and Virology. He was part of a team that discovered the AIDS Virus.

Despite all these years, he is sadly missed by his family and siblings, who carry on their bitter sweet lives. His laughter and jokes have left an imprint in our minds and these attributes would be an antidote to anyone feeling depressed. He was a fair-minded, open-hearted and very generous person.

His untimely death, at a young age, meant he was unable to witness the academic excellence achieved by his two sons, Ivan Newton and Mervin Jacob. He was a rich source of inspiration and encouragement to them.

He was good at making friends very quickly and when several of his American colleagues came to Kenya, they stayed with our family in South C, Nairobi. The earth received such an amazing gift the day he was born, 9th September 1936 and Heaven now has a very special Angel.

We miss him every day. He leaves behind his widow, Maria Alejandra Handel e Fernandes and his sons.