Terence de Fonseka (1919-2000)

It is with great sadness I report the sudden death on 21st March 2000 of the Sri Lankan odonatologist Terence de Fonseka in Finchley, North London, England. He is greatly missed by many friends and more especially his immediate family, wife Irangani, son Nahil, daughter-in-law Maria and granddaughter Joanna. Terence was born on 6th September 1919, the second in a family of six children, in Kalutara, a coastal town in south west Sri Lanka, known as ‘Palm Beach’ and situated about 25 miles south of Colombo. His father was a legal advocate. Terence was educated at St Peter’s College, Colombo and Holy Cross College, Kalutara. He won an Entrance Scholarship to University College Colombo and obtained a degree in Zoology from the University of London. He served for two years as a Graduate Probationer in the Department of Agriculture and entered the Ceylon Civil Service in 1945, serving in a number of government departments, including the Department of Fisheries and as Permanent Secretary to the Ministries of Commerce, Nationalised Services and Social Services until retirement in 1970. Terence, his wife and son then emigrated to England, where he worked for the Department of Health until his full retirement in 1984.