Born: 17 March, 1935, in London.
Died: 1 July, 2008, in Dundee, aged 73.
ON GRADUATING from Oxford University with a history degree, it is unlikely that Elizabeth Dick suspected that her career path would lead
her to the department of anatomy at Dundee University, but her life would take many turns.
She was born to Scottish parents in 1935 in London, where the family remained throughout the war. Her father was a keen golfer who encouraged and coached her in the sport. In London, she attended St Paul's Girls School and went to Oxford to study history, where she also captained the university lacrosse team. During this time she represented Scotland in both golf and lacrosse. It was at the university's Church of Scotland Society that she met her future husband David Dick, a Glaswegian working on postgraduate medical research. They married in 1958 and spent their honeymoon in Denmark, where David was working for a year at the university of Copenhagen. When David broke his ankle there, she accompanied him to the university and this led to her career in medical research. After returning to Oxford, Elizabeth gave birth to their three sons, James, Andrew and Peter.
In 1966, the family moved to North Carolina for a year, and David and Elizabeth worked at Duke University. After a brief return to Oxford, the family moved to Dundee, and Elizabeth continued her medical research in the department of anatomy. Despite her first degree being in history, at the age of 51 she gained her PhD for her medical research work on the transport of sodium and potassium across cell membranes. While working towards her PhD during the early Eighties, there were serious cuts in university funding and a decision was taken to lay off part-time staff. As most of these employees were women, Elizabeth fought and won a landmark case against the university for sex discrimination.
Inspired by the public implications of this case, Liz entered national politics and stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate at four successive general elections, mainly in Dundee West. One of her passions in politics was the environment and she was a founder member and first convenor of the Scottish Green Liberal Democrats.
She also was active at community council level where she served Hilltown and Law for several years.
After retirement in 1995, she rekindled her love of golf and played regularly at Downfield and Rosemount golf courses. She was an active member of the High Kirk in Dundee and was involved with Christian Aid.
She is survived by her three sons and five grandchildren.
The full article contains 440 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
