John Micallef, who for close to 40 years committed his energies – almost to his last breath – to penning Roamer’s column in The Sunday Times, died yesterday at the age of 76.
Monica Wiedersum, who has known Mr Micallef for 38 years, described him an “exceptional and unusual person in so many different ways, all of them so very likeable”.
“In the years that I have known him, there was never a person who didn’t like or even love him; I never heard him say an unkind word to anyone. His wit and his knowledge of everything printable was quite remarkable, as was his command of pen and language,” she said.
“But above all he was a man of very high moral and courageous principles and with his versatile pen he unwaveringly served the God he loved and believed in and the country he so cherished.
“For 40 years he gave his very best every Sunday to Roamer’s column and almost to his last breath last Saturday morning he staggered downstairs to write his last 600 words. He only managed 300!”
Started in the 1950s, Roamer’s column, which was anonymous, was the brainchild of former The Sunday Times editor George Sammut. It welcomed the contributions of different writers – from Mr Sammut himself, to former editors Anthony Montanaro and Laurence Grech – all under the by-line of Roamer.
But Mr Micallef took on the column single-handedly almost 40 years ago, week in, week out, delving into political and social issues.
For The Sunday Times editor Steve Mallia, he was the most reliable and polite of men, who will be missed.
On Friday, Mr Micallef called Mr Mallia to inform him Roamer’s column would be submitted a little later than usual because he had had to go to hospital that week. He was true to his word – stretching his usual deadline by just a few hours.
“I was shocked to learn that his condition had suddenly deteriorated on Sunday, though it was typical of the man to adopt a business-as-usual attitude even in such trying circumstances,” he said.
“He had made Roamer’s column his own after taking it over and his contribution to The Sunday Times was enormous over the course of many years,” Mr Mallia added.
Mr Grech, former The Sunday Times editor, described Mr Micallef as “a gentleman, very correct and a staunch Catholic”.
Mr Micallef came from a publishing family. His father, Anthony, ran Lux Press, a very active press in postwar Malta which published party newspapers like Malta Tagħna, Il-Poplu and the evening newspaper The Bulletin.
Mr Micallef, who studied at St Edward’s College and later at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, had served in the Royal Artillery of Malta.
He joined BPC International in 1970, becoming head of its public relations department, before moving into the world of freelancing two years later. His short stories went on to be broadcast on the BBC.
In 2000 he was commissioned by the Farsons Foundation to write the biography Lewis Farrugia – A Man of Substance. This same foundation then commissioned him to write The Scicluna Saga: 1772-2008.