Eugene Stern Paykel
By Barbara Moses, nee Paykel
Eugene Stern Paykel
Born Auckland, New Zealand 9 September 1934
Died Cambridge, UK, 2 September 2023
By Barbara Moses, nee Paykel, Eugene’s sister, who lives in Auckland, New Zealand.
My beloved brother, Eugene Paykel, died on 2 September, 2023, and I have been asked to write a few words about him. I do this with pleasure.
I will give, first of all, a little family history, to link Gene, as we all knew him, with NZ. All four of our grandparents, plus our mother, Eva Stern Paykel, were born in Russia, but fled because of pogroms. They had terrible journeys to all leave Russia for USA, and then the Paykel grandparents, after living for some time in Wisconsin, were encouraged to come to NZ by relations already here. Our father, Joshua Paykel, known as Joe, was born in Matakohe in 1900, and then Grandpa Max Paykel, and his wife Ida, wanted to move to Auckland to be closer to a Jewish community.
Eva’s family stayed in New York, where they entered via Ellis Island. Our parents met when Joe was studying, bright fellow that he was, at Harvard. They had a long romance, as he came back here, and Eva, a budding concert pianist already doing well in NY, did not want to live here in Auckland! However, love prevailed and they were married by a Judge in Hawaii in 1931. They later had a Jewish wedding in Auckland.
A notable fact, of which my mother was very proud, and that impressed all Rabbis, was that on my mother’s side we are descended from Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, the famous Chassidic “Berdichive Rebbe”.
Gene was born and grew up in Auckland, attending Auckland Grammar School, where he excelled academically. He then moved on to do medical intermediate at the University of Auckland, easily obtaining entry to Otago Medical School, at the time the only Medical School in the country. He graduated in 1956, aged all of 22. Gene then did stints as House surgeon in Auckland. In those days, the corridors of Middlemore Hospital in suburban Auckland were so long, the young Drs often kept bicycles to move along the corridors, especially if in a rush during the night!
He stated more recently that he had always wanted to be a Dr. That profession undoubtedly ran strongly in our families, although now it seems to be more the Law. Gene also had wide interests and as a sideline did Arts papers at university while doing medicine, and he excelled at them too. In fact, he was a very cultured man, loving theatre, opera, music, and was a totally avid reader, which led to his being on the board for some years of the Cambridge University Press. However, I get ahead of myself!
As many Drs used to do, Gene travelled to the UK as a ship’s Dr, which gave him free passage. He went in early 1959, and went to Edinburgh. I always envied the apparent ease with which he passed hugely tough exams! He became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians (Ed) at his first attempt, which was rare. At that stage he was more interested in Internal Medicine. He then, after working in hospitals, obtained his MRCP in London on first attempt also.
Around this time he became interested in Psychiatry, and so went on to obtain his Diploma in Psychological Medicine from London University. This was a highly respected psychiatric qualification, amongst the best in the world, and one where he needed to have the MRCP as a pre-requisite. I believe the DPM took three years.
In 1966, he left the UK for the USA, and became a researcher and Assistant Professor at Yale University in the Department of Psychiatry. In short order, Gene became Director of the Depression Research Unit at Yale, and he and his team went on to do ground-breaking work, which has continued to benefit people everywhere. He became an expert researcher, and loved it, and his work then, along with other now eminent names, led to an understanding of life events causing depression. These are things such as family death, moving house, losing a job. Gene always said that this was among his most productive time, with research ideas simply bubbling up. It must be amazing to do such work and see direct human benefits, which continue to this very day.
In the meantime, his life events continued! He had met Margaret (Maggie) Melrose in London, when she was a senior medical librarian. They got married in Connecticut in 1969. Maggie had a Reform Jewish conversion, which was thrilling for our family. However, the truth is that my brother, enormously proudly Jewish, was not a religious man in any shape or form, so religion in their family did not play a part, although they are all very moral and caring people. Maggie is a very talented craft artist and a superb cook, and they became proud parents of Nicholas, born in USA, and Jonathan, born in London. They are now both married also, Nicholas to Meriem, and Jonathan and Katie have two daughters, Annie and Martha. Family gave Gene the most pleasure, and he and Maggie just adored their time with the grandchildren in particular. That is what happens to us – we love our children, but then along come the grandchildren and… …wow!
To quote Gene, by 1971 they were both missing London badly, and Gene missed the British style of Psychiatry. So they returned to London, and Gene to a position at St George’s Hospital and Medical School (University of London), mostly doing clinical psychiatry but also some teaching and research. However, he was still very involved with the Yale research, frequently travelling back and forth, and making many important discoveries about psychiatric medication, but also setting up community psychiatric nursing services. He and colleagues got many research grants, without which, of course, it is impossible to do meaningful research.
In 1985, Gene was contacted in connection with the Chair of Psychiatry at Cambridge University. The first Professor, Sir Martin Roth, was retiring. To quote Eugene,
“I was about to become Chairman of the Department at St George’s… …I was very happy at St George’s, and had not thought of leaving, but the offer of a chair at one of the world’s most prestigious universities was too much ultimately for me to refuse.”
No one in the family really wanted to leave London and its rich cultural life, but they did, to a wonderful big home on a golf course, and became happy in time with the move. Anyone who has been to Cambridge knows what a totally charming place it is.
For a variety of reasons, the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge had a number of issues, and when Gene arrived there it had one Chair, being Gene himself. I am not totally up to date, but do know that by 2008 it had five Professorships in Psychiatry and three in Psychology, all of international standing. Gene reached what was then the university retirement age of 67 in September, 2001, becoming an Emeritus Professor at that time. He was also, sometime before this, made a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge, and actually kept a base at the university after retirement, and stayed very involved with so many medical/psychiatric organisations for many years, until he decided to ease off and become a “retired gent”!
However, the list of his involvements with both British and international organisations is so vast as to be a little boring to read, but it is remarkable. He was an examiner for a variety of things medical, Vice President and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, President of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, and his list of qualifications is similarly huge. He often got called on to special committees set up in medical emergencies in UK.
He also guest lectured all over the world constantly, including New Zealand. He never lost his love for this country and his good fortune to grow up here and enjoy a wonderful childhood lifestyle, with sun, beaches, a fantastic warm family and outstanding education. One of the honours of which he was hugely proud was being made an Augusta Fellow by Auckland Grammar School in 2017. Since he had already stopped long haul travel, this was presented to him at New Zealand House in London in the presence of various Auckland Grammar luminaries including Headmaster, Tim O’Connor, by Sir Jerry Mateparae, ex NZ Governor General, and by this time NZ High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.
In closing, I do not want to sound reverential, but I know my sister, Suzanne, and I are just very proud of our brother and his amazing contribution to the world of psychiatry. Although definitely not a religious man, he did have a very Jewish heart, and was immensely proud of his background, and the ability of the Paykel family to readjust successfully to very difficult circumstances from which they fled. Suzanne and Gene were very close in age, and I came along much later, and grew up mostly as almost an only child. Sue lives in Reading, Berkshire, having lost her husband, Brien Stait, some years ago. She has children and grandchildren all of whom are in England. I live in Auckland, where both my daughters also live. Some of my grandchildren are here, and some in Sydney at present. My marvellous family and dear friends sustain me, especially after losing my most beloved husband, Roger, after 56 years of marriage.
Farewell, Gene. You had a long and happy life, marriage, career, made such a contribution, but although you have now left us all, your family and contribution live on. One cannot really ask for more.