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Carol Holder (in red) with Maria Fernandez, Liz Barnes-Moss and Niki Andrew
Carol Holder (in red) with Maria Fernandez, Liz Barnes-Moss and Niki Andrew

It is with sadness that I announce the death of Carol Holder who was administrator to the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology (NLO) and later in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences until 2016. 

Carol came to the NLO from commerce, having worked earlier as a manager at Fenwicks in Oxford but soon acquiring the skills of a first-class administrator and PA able to negotiate the sometimes inscrutable accounting systems of the University and capable of organising little and big things, from coffee and sandwiches at lab meetings and lectures, to Christmas lunches and the annual alumni meetings. She was also a valued member of the administrative team that ensured the smooth running of several European, eye research organisations, the AER, JERMOV and EVER.

Carol’s special talent was empathy and compassion. Everything was done seamlessly and with great charm. No matter what problem arose, she appeared to understand it, share it and have the means to negotiate it; her special catch phrase when something had to be done, was, ‘will do’, and lo, it would be done. Carol was a welcoming presence in the laboratory who helped set the tone and gave the lab community the sense that everyone was of equal value and that the lab was a good place to be.

Anthony Bron, former Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology