Roy Charles Muir 1938-2002

Roy Charles Muir died, surrounded by his family, in Christchurch, New Zealand, on June 8, 2002, of esophogeal cancer. The sudden appearance of this illness only 2 years after the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease seemed cruel and unfair to all those who knew and loved him. His untimely death interrupted a semi-retirement to his native New Zealand, which had begun less than 2 years before.

I met Roy 35 years ago when he came with his family from New Zealand to Montreal in pursuit of psychoanalytic training. Our friendship began as analytic classmates sharing the excitement and demands of the psychoanalytic program. A common background of small-town upbringing, similar family experiences, and a shared love of the out-of-doors soon led to a deeper intertwining of our lives. This persisted over the years, in spite of many comings and goings, as we pursued opportunities and dreams, and sometimes, dreams disguised as opportunities. His death has affected me deeply.

On his return to New Zealand in 1971, Roy took up an academic position in Child Psychiatry at the University of Otago in Dunedin. He advanced to become the chief of the section of Child and Family Psychiatry in the Department of Psychological Medicine and associate professor within the university. During these years, he established the first training program for child psychotherapists in the country and greatly strengthened a psychoanalytic presence in the training of medical students, psychiatrists, and mental health professionals.

In spite of geographical isolation from the mainstream of psychoanalysis during those years, Roy retained a strong psychoanalytic identity, maintained an active analytic practice, and was instrumental in bringing many prominent psychoanalysts to visit and teach. Roy encouraged me to come to New Zealand to take up an academic position in Christchurch, and during my 5 years there, we met frequently and collaborated in many professional and personal ventures. As we were two among three ana