Vale William (Bill) Arnold (1940–2024)

The PSA is saddened to learn of the passing of life member William (Bill) Arnold MPS, who died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday (26 October 2024).

Bill was an active community pharmacist and long-standing pharmacy owner in the ACT, who’s profound contribution to the profession and the Australian public spanned many roles and many decades.

Bill was a career-long member of the PSA, regularly attending events and lectures and volunteering his time and expertise for the benefit of the profession. Bill served on Special Interest Groups and was appointed as the pharmacy representative on a diverse range of boards and bodies including the ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Taskforce Working Group, the ACT Opiate Treatment Advisory Committee and the ACT Vulnerable Families Project.

In 2013, Bill celebrated 50 years of continuous PSA membership and was made a Life Member in recognition of his service to the profession and to PSA.

Bill was the first Chairman of the ACT Division of the Pharmaceutical Society of New South Wales in 1971. He made a significant contribution to the profession as a member of the ACT Pharmacy Board from 1998-2015. He was an active contributor to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) and an inaugural member of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s ACT Branch Committee, who later recognised him as a life member. Bill was also one of the leaders behind Auspharmlist, one of the first online forums for pharmacists to collaborate and mentor each in the virtual world.

Outside of pharmacy, Bill had a love of the Australian bush, was a soccer tragic and undertook extensive chaplaincy work in prisons.

Upon awarding Mr Arnold the honour of life membership, then ACT Branch President Greg Kyle, recognised Bill as a stalwart of PSA for many years, describing his as ‘a very active member [whose] ongoing commitment to the profession and the community is an example that many other pharmacists look up to.’

‘He never shirks from volunteering to offer his expertise and his work has seen him appointed as the pharmacy representative on a diverse range of boards and bodies which have included the ACT Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Taskforce Working Group, the ACT Opiate Treatment Advisory Committee and the ACT Vulnerable Families Project,’ Associate Professor Kyle said.

On receiving this honour, Bill reflected:

‘I seem to remember going from the Pharmacy Board Office in Sydney after collecting that bit of paper straight round to the PSA NSW Office to join. I have always enjoyed the community pharmacy environment and being able to help people, and this continues to be a great satisfaction for me. We have an expression in Hebrew; “Tikun Olam” which is translated in different ways. Essentially the concept is that each one of us should try to make the only world we have a better place.’

‘My father’s version was that if you are part of anything you should be an active participant, and leave it better than when you started. I hope I have made a contribution to the profession.’

His funeral will be held tomorrow (31 October 2024) in Canberra.

Vale Bill Arnold MPS.