Dr Frank Garlick, A Pilgrim Journeys On!

Anna  and I received the message of the home call of Dr Frank Garlick, Brisbane on 13 Jan 2023, from Dr Joseph Thomas,             at 02.41 am today!

Dr Frank Garlick was a pilgrim, a pioneer and a prophet, who along with Dr Val Garlick has left a trail of living his vocation in humility and simplicity!

Anna knew Dr Frank Garlick as her professor of surgery at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, where he worked between 1962 and 1970. Frank and Val lived with their three children, Michael, John and Bruce in the Christian Medical College campus at Bagayam, Vellore.

I got to know Dr Frank Garlick when he visited me, while I was in the third year of my medical studies, at the Medical College, Nagpur.  He lived in my hostel room for four days, when he came to visit, having heard about some medical students at the college, who were meeting for fellowship since 1970. I remember writing to late Rev P T Chandapilla, the then general secretary of the Union of Evangelical students of India informing him about the fellowship experiences as a medical students group, through a letter, 'What happened in Nagpur'. The letter was about the attempts of some students at the Medical College to pursue a dream of relating to medical students in other medical colleges, who also viewed the practice of medicine as a vocation! In that attempt we had got in touch with medical students at the Christian Medical Colleges, Vellore and Ludhiana, Madras Medical College, Manipal Medical College, Coimbatore Medical College, etc. We also had visits from some doctors working in Mission Hospitals. Dr. Howard Searle, who was at that time engaged in the formation of the Emmanuel Hospital Association, was a regular visitor to encourage the medical student's group at Nagpur.

Frank had left his position at the Christian Medical College, Vellore following a 'call' that came to him from the medical students who used to come to his home, once a week, for dialogue on being a 'pilgrim doctor'. I remember Frank mentioning the names of  Dr. Vinod Shah and Dr. Raju Abraham who were regularly at these meetings. One of the students once commented, "We are often told to consider the mission hospital as our future place of work. If we were to go to a mission hospital, who will care for us there?" This question moved Frank and he decided to become an itinerant surgeon visiting mission hospitals to support young doctors and mentor them so that they could find fulfilment in their work. Frank was already visiting    Dr. P P George and Dr. K V Kurien regularly at Periyakulam, where they had started a mission hospital. 

For Frank, deciding to leave CMC Vellore was not an easy decision. He was an accomplished surgeon with extraordinary surgical skills and diagnostic acumen. He was popular among students and residents for his teaching and engaging skills. His colleagues looked upto him as a leader and mentor. I remember Dr Prakash Kandhuri to whom he bequeathed the leadership of the surgical unit he headed, telling me once, 'Dr Garlick was an exceptional person and a surgeon par excellence', while referring sadly to his leaving CMC prematurely. The Director of CMC Vellore at that time, a surgeon, Dr L.B.M Joseph, in a conversation with me in 1981, told me that 'CMC was fortunate to have had some outstanding overseas surgeons from overseas in its faculty like, Dr Paul Brand and Dr Frank Garlick' ! 

Visiting the group of medical students at Nagpur aroused a new interest in Frank to explore the possibility of bringing together doctors and medical students into a 'fellowship pf pilgrims', which  culminated in the missionary conference for medical students and doctors at the Hindustan Bible Institute, Madras, in December, 1972. The Medical students from Vellore, Coimbatore, Chennai and Nagpur facilitated by bringing medical students to this conference. The presence of late Mr. Alan Norish, from the BMMF, Dr. A. K Tharien from Oddanchatram, Dr. K Thirumalai from Sagar, Dr R D Stevens from Coimbatore and some others gave a sense of direction to this conference towards the formation of a fellowship of medical students and doctors. It was Frank who enthused us and made this into a time of celebration.

It was during the two years in between his visit to us at Nagpur and the missionary Conference that I had opportunities to meet with Frank at Chennai, every two months during the week ends to explore this vision for the formation of a fellowship, to bring together doctors and medical students, which led to the formation of the Evangelical Medical Fellowship of India (EMFI) in 1976. 

Following this historic event for which Frank gave the leadership expounding the 'Ethos of the EMFI' at its inaugural conference, he left India to return to Brisbane, Australia. He trained himself in Emergency Medicine by acquiring a qualification in Emergency Medicine from the Royal College in Britain and started the Emergency Medicine Department at the medical school in Brisbane and remained as its director of this service and training unit from 1977 to 1989.  

His next journey was to Patan Mission Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal where as the Director, Frank established a surgical  training centre for residents and turned that hospital into an advanced facility for medical, surgical, obstetric and paediatric services. He was awarded the King's medal for this outstanding service. During my first visit to that hospital, I remember the warmth and affection with which he was greeted by the staff and patients when he moved about in the hospital. His presence electrified the hospital team to view their service as a means for setting up new bench mark in hospital practices and care of patients. 

On returning to Brisbane, Val and Frank got fully engaged in marriage enrichment through a Family Enrichment Programme, organising couples communication groups. They had already been involved in this programme for over a decade. They led this programme to enable young married couples to enrich their family life by upbuilding each other. They then enabled others to get trained under their supervision so that this initiative could continue. 

Anna and I remember Frank and Val for their personal involvement in our lives. He and Val had suggested to Anna and me, before we met each other, that we consider marriage. Frank was present at our marriage service in February 1975 to bless us. During the subsequent years, Frank and Val were our companions walking with us through the myriad experiences of life. He also took a keen interest in the lives of our children, Arpit and Anandit. One visit of Frank with his children during our time at Vellore is memorable because it was a celebration time of years of association. Mike referred to it then, as ' Our Dosa and Gulab Jamun feast' !

The two photos below, first of Arpit and Anandit with Frank taken at the EMFI conference at Bangalore probably in 2007 and the second one taken during their visit to us at Vellore are pictures we treasure.  

Frank mentioned to me on his first trip to India since returning to Australia,  that when he and Val were returning to Brisbane after their fifteen years in India, I seemed to have said  'I hope we will have an opportunity to meet you in India in the future'. They responded to that request and returned every two years to visit us and other friends, until he finished his term of service in Kathmandu. Later Anna and I had opportunities to visit them in Brisbane. During the last meeting some years ago, I went prepared to write the story of his life in India. He felt reluctant to attempt that, which I sensed was on account of his desire to remain hidden and less known. 

As a substitute Anna and I summarised our memories,  and wrote a series of letters to Frank and Val between 2021 and 2022, recollecting details and anecdotes of our long years of association with them. 

Anna and I have been blessed to know Frank and Val for over fifty years and they have accompanied us inspiring and enthusing  to continue living our calling fully. We got to know their children and their families, particularly, Mike and Sue. 

At the time when Anna and I were getting ready to leave CMC, Vellore in 1982, to get involved with children having  neuro-developmental needs, Frank and Val were specially forthcoming with their encouragement and support. This meant a lot to us, when we started the Child Development Centre of ASHIRVAD at Chennai in 1983. Subsequently when CMC Vellore invited us back in 1997 to start the Developmental Paediatrics Unit, it was Frank and Val, who along with few others, prompted us to to take that step by incorporating the facilities of the Child Development Centre at Chennai, to create the  Developmental Paediatrics Unit through a MOU with CMC Vellore. 

During the few occasions when Anna and I were able to visit Frank and Val in their home in Brisbane, we came back encouraged and touched by their kindness, hospitality and thoughtfulness. 

Frank was an unusual person in so many ways. His favourite beverage was coffee because he said it was " hot, brown and sweet". He  travelled widely between 1970 and 1975  using the sleeper class of the Indian Railways, during which time he wrote letters to contact medical students and doctors all over this country.  He travelled light - both during his railway journeys and in his 'pilgrim' life. His baggage had more papers than clothing when he travelled. His ritual of washing clothes every evening before retiring, stays with me as a habit he developed to symbolise his pilgrim orientation.  He remembered people and recognised them because of his mindful nature, always wanting to bring encouragement to them. 

A favourite hymn he learned from his Salvation Army days , authored by John Bunyan, was: 

 'He who would valiant be

‘Gainst all disaster
Let him in constancy
Follow the Master
There’s no discouragement
Shall make him once relent
His first avowed intent
To be a pilgrim.

Who so beset him round
With dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound —
His strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might,
Though he with giants fight:
He will make good his right
To be a pilgrim.

Since, Lord, Thou doest defend
Us with Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end
Shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away!
I’ll fear not what men say,
I’ll labor night and day

To be a pilgrim.

Frank lived this calling as much as he was enabled by the God of his life and the family that he belonged to. 

Val was his strength and resonance and they lived their lives by bringing others into their orbit to love and serve . 

To the residents in training, he was a tutor and mentor. To his colleagues he was a surgeon who took meticulous care of his patients. To his students he was a skilled trainer, giving them 'hands-on experiences'. To the leaders under whom he worked, Frank was a resource and he was often consulted for critical decisions. To those who were his friends he became a confidante and encourager. Dr, Joseph and Grace Thomas, our common friends, have often told us in the recent years that although Frank had medical needs, he was always cheerful, trustful and gracious. 

Frank wrote short notes on flash cards to summarise the talks he had with those whom he met. He returned to me several flash cards he had written during my meetings with him. He also gave me a bunch of letters I had written to him during twenty years, before e-mails came to be the means of communication. We have had about three hundred letters from him, from 1970 to 1997 on matters of common interest - one of them being integrated living!  

We mentioned to Val and Frank, about Dr Hans Burki, who used to conduct a month long Life Revision Seminar in Rasa in Switzerland, to help people to pursue the calling of integrated living. They chose to go for one summer retreat, but could attend it only for a week as Val took ill and needed hospitalisation. Referring to that difficult time when Val at one stage was critically ill, Frank said, 'That illness brought us closer to each other, taking us to a new level of intimacy'! 

There were other times in his life when he went through stressful times, during the surgeries he needed, illness and prolonged treatment in the recent years, and  difficult and challenging events. A person becomes real and authentic during such formative experiences. That is what Anna and I felt about Val and Frank. They journeyed through a myriad of experiences to discover new depth in their mutual relationship and mission.

Dr Bruce Garlick, their younger son who is a reputed cardio-thoracic surgeon in Brisbane said to me once, 'Frank is my gold standard in being meticulous as a surgeon'. John one of the twins referred to Frank and Val 'as refuge in troubled times'. Mike, the other twin talked about Frank and Val, as 'parents who made themselves available to them'! For Val, Frank was a soul mate and life companion beyond her dreams. 

For Anna and me, Frank was a father figure to whom we turned to feel anchored during good times and turbulent times. 

Now we shall live with memories of over fifty years of association and shared experiences particularly during the seven years of the formation of the EMFI in the mid-seventies.

We remember Val and the rest of the family as they go through this time of grief and loss. Anna and I send our love, consolation and condolences as they prepare for the formal farewell service for Frank on 20 th January, 2023. It is a time of grief and celebration. 

Frank was a God-sent pilgrim for this generation and lives on in our memories! Frank will continue to remain present to us and influence our journey of being and becoming! 

Frank, we will remember how humorous you were, often telling stories of how your Australian accent gave wrong messages. We would recall the way you lived without being overtaken by creature comfort. We would celebrate the way you lived as a pilgrim to know and be known of God. The way you lived in your family as one who serves and cares will stay in our thoughts. We witnessed transitions in your life because your heart was set on living fully and authentically. You unveiled to us a new glimpse of God's heart - giving, forgiving and accompanying us in our journey of becoming our true selves,

You leave a void in our inner space!

Frank, you lived life to the full - moving when moved by God's call in your life!
  

Anna and M C Mathew (text and photo)