It is with much sadness that WEHI announce the passing of Lady Lyn Nossal, wife of Sir Gustav Nossal (WEHI director 1965–1996) and Honorary Rotary Melbourne member, who passed away peacefully last Friday morning, at the age of 89.
Born on 21 July 1933, Lyn Beatrix Dunnicliff originally trained and worked as a speech therapist in NSW. She met Gus whilst he was studying medicine at The University of Sydney. In 1955, after his graduation, they married in Chatswood in Sydney. Gus later said that marrying Lyn was “the best thing I ever did”.
In 1957 they moved to Melbourne where Gus undertook his PhD with Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet at WEHI.
Mid-career, Lyn changed direction and returned to studying, applying herself to fine arts and history. She held various roles in the Australian arts community, including assistant director of the Ian Potter Museum at Melbourne University.
Whilst working in a curatorial role in a Melbourne gallery, she worked closely with her husband on creating a collection of art works to display in the common areas of WEHI’s Parkville campus, some of which are still on display today.
In 1977, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II knighted Sir Gus Nossal under the British Imperial honours system for his services to science, and Lyn took on the title Lady Nossal.
Lyn was a member of WEHI, a patron of the arts, a passionate WEHI donor, and a signatory to various petitions in support of the arts and of free speech. She was a regular attendee at WEHI events and was a source of enormous encouragement to many students, staff and alumni.
Around 2015 Lyn developed symptoms of cognitive decline and was eventually diagnosed with dementia. In speaking openly about this in 2020, Gus said “I think the biggest challenge by far has been to accommodate that this person – the closest thing to you in the whole world and who you’ve known for 60 years as dynamic, intelligent, very vigorous, and a very positive type of person – all of a sudden is becoming passive”.
Our thoughts are with Sir Gus, their four children Brigid, Katrina, Michael and Stephen, and their nine grandchildren.
