Slabber du Toit was an ophthalmic surgeon based in British Columbia, Canada. He was born on 23 September 1932 and raised in Kakamas, a small farm town in northwest South Africa. Slabber was the third child (second son) of four children. His mother, Maria Johanna du Toit née Slabber, was the daughter of local farmers and his father, Gerhardus Hubertus Goossens du Toit, was the town’s doctor. Although Slabber had a natural proclivity for all things mechanical, his father’s enthusiasm for the art and science of prescribing glasses for rural patients was contagious. Slabber was sent to De Villiers Graaf High School in Villiersdorp, east of Cape Town and 767 km south of the family home. By graduation, rather than pursuing his own interest in engineering, he had decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and study medicine. Slabber attended the University of Cape Town, where he was also a keen rugby player, accounting for his athletic physique. He qualified in December 1956. He studied opera and ended up travelling around Europe for a few months with an opera singer friend before moving to England for postgraduate training. He worked as a senior house officer from 1958 to 1959 at the Western Ophthalmic Hospital, London. There he met a sporty nurse, Daphne Wilson, who, though British, had spent a decade living in Johannesburg, where she learned Afrikaans – giving her an edge over the competition. They married in June 1960 and moved to Manchester, where he was a registrar at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital from 1960 to 1963, where he greatly appreciated the support of Max Duthie. Within three and a half years Slabber and Daphne had three children: Michael, Andrew and Helen. Moorfield’s Eye Hospital lured Slabber back to London as a senior registrar from 1963 to 1966, where he had the privilege of working with Barrie Jones on TRIC (trachoma inclusion conjunctivitis). He was also delighted to be there as his father had studied there a few decades earlier. Slabber then worked as a senior registrar at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. In the mid to late sixties, he published a series of papers on cryoextractor and cryopexor, iris retractors, dynamometer outflow tests, new glaucoma tests and stromal herpes and steroids. At the time Moorfield’s regularly sent surgeons to remote regions in Canada. Slabber jumped at the opportunity to perform eye surgery for two weeks in Labrador, a frosty, rugged and beautiful remote spot. Between surgeries, a favourite pastime there was watching Canada Geese attempt to come in for landing on the frozen lake, which he found endlessly entertaining. Keen for adventure, in the winter of 1966 Slabber and Daphne packed up the kids to start a new life amongst the cowboys of Calgary, Alberta in western Canada. The plane was unable to land due to a severe winter storm, so the family was rerouted to Edmonton until the storm subsided. In Calgary, Slabber joined the practice of Ernie Johnson. Eventually Robert Gordon and Peter Gibson joined as well. In addition to running the practice and performing general eye surgery, Slabber specialised in cornea grafts, which kept him dashing back to the hospital from the tennis courts. He also served as an associate professor at Calgary Medical School. Standing 6’1” and sturdily built, Slabber had large hands. To keep his fingers nimble for surgery, in addition to darning his own socks, Slabber did a series of handicrafts including pewter work, jewellery design, marquetry, ceramics, cabinetry and wood turning, with a special interest in miniatures. Once every few months, Slabber and Daphne would set off to country fairs and markets with his ceramic pots and her macrame and weaving in the old Dodge Dart. With his lifelong interest in mechanics and design, Slabber was able to tackle almost anything that needed fixing – with a piece of string and a rubber band. He also designed and manufactured myriad tools for his craft work and also a few instruments for ophthalmic surgery. Because his father had passed away at the age of 54, as Slabber approached 50, he was eager to reduce the size and demands of his practice. He and Daphne purchased a lovely waterfront home in Deep Cove on Vancouver Island and he about studying for his LMCC (Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada) exams, as required by the British Columbia provincial government. Two years of deep study refreshing his knowledge of general medicine plus all the updated medicine over the 27 years since he qualified, and he was finally approved to set up a practice in Brentwood Bay in 1984. Daphne ran the admin and the two of them settled into a pleasant west coast lifestyle, adjusting to a generous share of rain, reminiscent of their time in England. Slabber shifted from ceramics to wood turning and took up sailing and opera classes again. He pressed his rich and resonant bass voice into service whenever a birthday cake appeared, and eventually joined the Saanich Peninsula Singers. This proved a most enjoyable undertaking and led to wonderful friendships. In 1995, they closed the doors on the practice. Slabber became an avid cyclist, up at the crack of dawn daily. His volunteer work at the Garth Homer Society in Victoria as a computer instructor with disadvantaged young adults was moving and inspiring. He enjoyed his semi-annual visits from his beloved niece Linda and her husband Luis on behalf of his South African family. He revelled in chatting with his woodworking pals about their newest gadgets and insider tips and techniques. Visits from his grandchildren were always busy and entertaining. Despite a bike accident severing a nerve in his shoulder, he continued with wood turning, culminating in endless handmade gifts for family and friends. He and Daphne had the most spectacular view of the ocean and Vancouver Island. At his 90th birthday celebration, Slabber was moved to tears by a photo album spanning his entire life, reminding him of the many good times, wonderful friends and family and patients, and his happy days in the UK with colleagues. Slabber died on 2 September 2023, a few weeks before his 91st birthday. He is deeply missed by Daphne, their children and grandchildren, by their wonderful circle of friends and his beloved family in South Africa.