Appreciation - Eng. Russel De Zilwa – A Gentleman Par Excellence

 

It is with deep sadness that we remember the passing of our dear colleague, Eng. Russel De Zilwa.

I first met Russel at Colombo Commercial Company (Engineers) Ltd. in early 1977, when I joined as a fresh Mechanical Engineer after completing my university studies overseas. At that time Russel served as Senior Research and Design Engineer, reporting directly to Chief Engineer, Mr. Deraniyagala. Well established and highly respected within the company, Russel was a role model for the young graduate engineers who joined the Company in the mid-1970s and thereafter. Russel was the Chief engineer at CCC (Engineers) Ltd when he left the company for other assignments locally and overseas.

Russel was an exceptional mentor to engineers both inside and outside his department. While I worked under the Works Manager as the Production Engineer, our team manufactured machinery for the tea and rubber plantations — including tea rollers, fluid-bed dryers, and rubber rollers. Russel’s department was responsible for improving the reliability and productivity of these machines. To do so he frequently visited plantations to observe machines in operation and ensure they performed as intended. These visits to tea factories often took place late at night, since tea processing commonly occurs in late evenings and early mornings. I accompanied Russel on several of these monitoring visits; I remember him kindly picking me up from my residence in Padukka on the way to the upcountry estates.

Beyond his technical contributions, Russel supported many young engineers in obtaining membership of the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) and achieving Chartered Engineer status — a significant milestone in an engineer’s career. He assisted me in becoming a corporate member of the IESL and in obtaining chartered status in the early 1980s, and later proposed my application for Fellowship of the IESL, who himself was an Honorary Life Fellow of the Institution. He extended similar guidance to many others, particularly during his tenure as Executive Secretary of the IESL from 2001 to 2008.

We remember Eng. Russel De Zilwa as a gentle, highly professional, dynamic, and humble man who consistently went the extra mile to help fellow professionals and citizens without prejudice. He will be fondly remembered as a gentleman par excellence.

We reiterate our deepest condolences to his beloved wife Rajini, son, daughter and the grandchildren.

May his soul rest in peace.

Gamini Padmaperuma