Anton Pizzuto, writes:

It was evening when Dorothy phoned my wife to inform her that our friend and former laboratory colleague had passed away.

To say that we were shocked is an understatement.

Paul was a colleague who both of us worked with for a considerable number of years in the Pathology Department of St Luke Hospital.

I remember quite clearly the first day when I was assigned to work under him in the Biochemistry Lab (chemical pathology).

I stood in awe at the array of chemical bottles on the shelves wondering how I was to familiarise myself with their contents.

Paul immediately put me at ease saying "by the time I finish with you, I will be able to go for my Christmas holidays".

This was in October 1965 - and that year he did! During his tenure he saw the transition from the lengthy, complex and laborious chemical testing of body fluids to the introduction of automation in the lab.

I distinctly remember the arrival of the first "auto-analyzer" with its frequent breakdowns and Paul, the master trouble-shooter always on hand to fix it.

Paul Zarb had trained in the UK and was always willing to share his knowledge stemming from his experience and expertise with us, the young, aspiring laboratorians.

He was a hard-working, knowledgeable laboratorian who was an inspiration to those working with him.

When years later I resigned my position, went abroad and then entered the world of environmental science he used to tease me calling me "a deserter from the pathology laboratory'" However he acknowledged my unfading respect to those who practice laboratory medicine.

To his wife Dorothy, his son Mario and daughters Anna and Wilma and their respective families go our heartfelt condolences.

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