Richard AICKIN Obituary

May the Force be with you Richard :-(

To Jan and family, my heartful sympathy and sincere condolences, Richard's passing will be mourned by many. He was a founding Advsiory Group member of the PSNZ's NZ National Child and Youth Clinical Network programme and was the Chair for more than 2 terms, it was a pleasure to work with him. His leadership, strategic approach and ability to work alongside all involved made him a very valued member of the team and this is just a small part of his extensive and varied work load. Best wishes to you all at this sad time, Mollie

I've been pondering how to put into words the depth of an impact you've had on my career and outlook on life. You were a wonderful person. A true gentleman. A leader. Never judgemental of anyone. You were a keen and active listener. You were always kind. You noticed and payed attention. It didn't matter who you were, your accolades or your status. You always got the same Richard. You were always interested in giving your time, of which was precious. I loved the way you would joyously potter around the department with a spring in your step and a smile on your face. No matter what was happening on a shift. You made work fun. You were incredibly cheeky, a rascal and always having a chuckle with all of us. Your dark humour and wicked laugh forever etched in my mind with happy memories. You always kept everything calm and just got on with what needed to be done. You were the epitome of showing that you loved your learners. I never saw you belittle anyone or make them feel silly. I never heard you speak badly of anyone. You always encouraged and helped people to grow and to progress themselves. You had no ego and were incredibly patient. You enjoyed the simple things in life. You always had a new gadget...I saw you as someone that nailed balance. You treated your body as a temple and cared for yourself. You were so proud of your family and spoke of them often. In 14 years I never saw you appear stressed and I never saw you angry. You were incredible at everything you did with staff, patients and families. I will miss quietly listening into your chats with families that were always started with "Hi I'm Richard and I'm one of the paediatricians here, tell me what's been happening" for your mantra of a little time now to save a lot of time later. Your ability to connect and care with anyone in any situation was beyond amicable. Maybe you were secretly the dalai lama... I'm not sure. It kind of feels like you were. I'm not sure we will see anyone again as wonderful as you, but I'm sure you'll inspire a large number of people to try. Your national and international accolades go far beyond those that have been listed publicly so far. The impact of you will span for many generations to come. But for me you were a pal at work Riccardo, a special human that consistently showed humility and humbleness and your quiet impact for which the depth is continuously getting greater with each day without you around. The biggest take home i'll infuse in my life from you is that as a new and worried mum you told me "Your only job is to love her, nothing else matters" and I will take that advice for parenting my children for the rest of my days. In the words of Winnie the pooh: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard".

Hey Jan , Thinking of you and the family and so sorry I couldn't be there in person. Kia kaha. Will be up to see you in a few weeks I hope Lots of love Tim xx

I was Fortunate enough to be employed by Richard and Jan as Harry's nanny when he was a baby, what a great family too nanny for, fast ford many years when my son got very sick and we spent a lot of time in ED and on ward 27.
Richard thanks for popping in too see if we were ok....
Much love Jan harry and family x

Very sad to hear of Richard's illness and passing. I will remember him as the calm in the middle of frantic winters and the meningococcal epidemic. Thank you Richard for nurturing and being a role model for so many of us trainees. Arohanui.

Richard used to lead a tutorial every year for the postgrad Resuscitation Physiology students. His expertise and experience and willingness to engage with every question and query made these very valuable, very memorable sessions. Thank you for giving us your time Richard, you will be sorely missed.

When I arrived at RCH in Melbourne in 1992, as a very young SHO from Glasgow ,Richard mentored and inspired me to stay and train in paediatrics in Australia and then New Zealand. I will always remember his smile, kindness, passion, and talent. Such a huge loss, he will be missed by so many. My thoughts are with his whanau, friends and colleagues. Me te pouri tino nui

I´m so sorry to hear about this and my deepest sympathies to Jan and the whole family. Thank you Richard for your support and believing in me: as a Registrar in CED, getting through my exams, welcoming me back to NZ as a consultant and all the APLS stuff. My family recall and admired how sensitively and gently you chaired a presentation about our family. Thanks for everything.

Richard was a young, enthusiastic, and supportive boss in the early days of the Children´s Emergency Department when I was a trainee, and I remember him and those days fondly.
Jan, I am so sorry. Aroha atu ki a koe me te whanau. Steve

Thanks Richard for being an inspiring and kind paediatric emergency physician..and for your faith in giving me my first consultant job.

We have missed your smiling face around radiology you will be deeply missed. Our love and thoughts to the family.

Dear Jan,
Our thoughts are with you and your family.
With sympathy from Howard and my sister Robin

Richard was an inspirational Paediatrician. His dedication to emergency teaching was second to none. A huge loss for the Paediatric community in NZ and beyond. So calm, knowledgable and humble. Kia kaha

I'm gonna really miss seeing you around CED Richard. Sorry your passionate advice about me taking up cycling or any form of exercise never came to pass when you were around. It's funny with rising gas prices and inflation, your point on the cost: benefits for me to take up cycling are more relevant to me now (lol)...I might ACTUALLY listen to you now. I wish I could update you that your efforts weren't in vain - I went on a hike! and have been more intentional about my health like you hoped I would. You were so humble, funny, hard-working, an all-round cool boss and really fit (may I add!!). Anyways thanks for being you! and I'm so honoured to have worked with Richard.
Love, E.

AICKIN, Richard. Passed away on Sunday 8th May 2022, loved and admired son-in-law of Don and Margaret Sinclair, and brother in law of Craigie and Mark, Karyn and Roger and much loved uncle of Ben, Liam, Thomas and Emily. Richard will be sorely missed.