At 18 months Ron's very first words were ''A bit of butter for my bread hey?''. His astonished parents, Henry and Betty, said, ''But you've never said anything before.'' ''There's been nothing worth saying before!'' Ron continued as he started - speaking only when it was worth speaking, or when he could get a word in edgeways.

Canvastown in the Whakamarina Valley in South Island NZ was not a healthy place for children; Ron and his brother had frequent spells in hospital. They were taught locally, until Ron went to Wanganui Collegiate when he was 14, thanks in part to his uncle Noel who had been at Oxford with the headmaster. From there after 3 years he got a scholarship to Victoria University in Wellington where he got a BSc and MSc in Chemistry. At the age of 22 he landed a job in Auckland with New Zealand Forest Products, and stayed with the firm, the largest company in New Zealand, for 35 years becoming its Chief Chemist.

Ron inherited his mother's skill in pottery. This led him to lodge with landlady-potter until the "Mothers' Mafia" put him in touch with a Mrs Bell who introduced him to another house where he was able to set up his potter's wheel. After they had bought a house in Howick, on 8 June 1957 Ron married Jane, Mrs Bell's daughter. They had six children in eight years, Roger, Christopher, Simon & Nicholas; twin girls Joanna and Julia born in 1962 only survived two days.

At NZ Forest Products Ron's inventions went into commercial production: turpentine extracted from pine bark; strong boxes with paper-faced wood veneer; partition panels; overlaid hardboard; medium density fibre board. Unconsciously Ron the chemist became 'Ron the manager' skilled at getting the best from his colleagues working co-operatively. In 1969 he earned a Diploma in Business and Industrial Administration at Auckland University with a ground-breaking thesis analysing attitudes to shiftwork. He wrote a major report on 'Fires in the Wallboard Mills' to stop the fire brigade doing more damage than the original fire. After a two-week-course at the Geneva International Management Institute he wrote a report on 'Management of Research & Development'; two of his sons have made more use of it that his own firm. The 1987 Stock Market crash led to his early retirement in 1987, but he became a Quality Assurance Consultant for several useful years.

Ron's mother Betty gave Ron her share of a family site in the Marlborough Sounds, at the north end of South Island. After taking a touring caravan there for holidays, they then located a 25-foot caravan there, before a bonus from work funded the building of a two-bedroom cottage with a lock-up basement. One of Ron's last achievements was to research the effects of the wash caused by the hydrofoil ferry from Wellington, and get a limit put on the speed it could do in Sound. After retirement touring in Britain and Europe became an important part of their joint lives.

Elizabeth Lissaman, Ron's mother, was awarded an OBE for her pottery, and her creations have become collector's items. Ron from an early age shared her enthusiasm; when small he helped rebuild the inside of her kiln. He went to pottery classes in Auckland, and later taught other students to throw pots - unusually both clockwise and anti-clockwise according to their aptitude. He inherited his mother's 1920s wheel, and his share in his eldest uncle's windfall bought an electric kiln. He never produced commercially, but many of his well-decorated pieces are gifts treasured by family members. His niece Angie carries on the family tradition.

The gardens at six family homes earned Ron the compliment from a professional of being an expert plantsman. One of their properties was purchased for its well-developed quarter-acre garden.

Ron and Jane involved themselves deeply in community work - with their boys' schools, with Scouts (collecting bottles for re-use before recycling became a norm), with Rotary, with All Saints' Church Howick. While at NZ Forest Products, Ron was involved with the Interchurch Trade and Industry Mission [ITIM], becoming its chairman. ITIM was involved with looking after the seriously deprived unemployed at the bottom of the sociological heap.

Battling courageously with increasing ill-health, Ron did not expect to see his 70th birthday, which his whole family gathered to celebrate. His battle was over on 8 September 2002.

on 5 July 2001 Ron's 70th birthday: l.to r. - Alison & Roger with Jessica & Harriet; Jane & Ron; Christopher & Anne Brook; Simon & Karen with Tom & Eleanor; Nicholas & Fiona with Emily & Rebecca.

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