Ms Anne Marie Anstice, MRPharmS, née Boggan, of 12 Hayes Chase, West Wickham, Kent BR4 0HZ, died on April 13, aged 45 years. Ms Anstice registered in 1976. She was editor of Pharmacy Magazine.
Anne Anstice was brought up in Liverpool and studied pharmacy at the University of Bath. After completing her preregistration year she returned to the university to carry out microbiological research. In 1979 she joined The Pharmaceutical Journal's editorial staff as a sub-editor. She left The Journal in 1986 to become editor of Community Pharmacy, which was then published by the Communications International Group. She continued with the title after it was acquired by Morgan Grampian, but returned to Communications International in 1995 as launch editor of Pharmacy Magazine.
Funeral arrangements: Burial mass at St Peter and St Pauls, 161 Liverpool Road, Crosby, Liverpool, April 25, 11am. Family flowers only. Memorial donations may be sent to St Christopher's Hospice (Homecare Service), 59-61 Lawrie Park Rd, Sydenham, London SE26 6DZ. A requiem mass was held on April 19 at St Marks Church, West Wickham.
Professor ALISON BLENKINSOPP and Dr JOHN BLENKINSOPP write: Anne Anstice had a passion for pharmacy that never wavered in the 15 years we knew her. When we first met she was already a well-established journalist with The Pharmaceutical Journal. Following a lively debate about continuing education for pharmacists she challenged us to write a series for the PJ, and "Case studies in community pharmacy" was the result. We continued to work with Anne from that time onwards, and by the time she moved to become editor of Community Pharmacy we were firm friends.
Anne's vision was realised with the launch of Pharmacy Magazine in 1995 and she was able to achieve her dream of shaping a new publication with pharmacists' professional development at its heart. She gathered around her an editorial panel of forward-looking pharmacists and a team of talented journalists.
Always ready to break the mould, Anne made the magazine the first in Britain to join the Continuing Professional Development Award scheme to enable its readers to gain credits from completion of educational modules.
Anne and her business partner Felim O'Brien made a wonderful and formidable combination, she with her pharmacy expertise, extensive professional network and talent for communication, he with the highest level entrepreneurial and business skills to make things happen. The Pharmacy Live exhibition, started from scratch by Anne and Felim, was another example of mould-breaking and became a great success, again characterised by an emphasis on pharmacists' professional development.
Anne was never anything other than positive about the future of community pharmacy and this was reflected in the tone and attitude of Pharmacy Magazine. She was a great supporter of community pharmacy organisations, giving up countless evenings and weekends to attend their events. Well known both within the profession and across the industry, Anne's air of quiet authority, her constructiveness and keenness to listen earned her the highest level of respect and credibility.
Outside of work Anne lived life to the full, delighting in her two young sons Matthew and Martin and nurturing their development. Somehow she also managed to fit in her love of exercise and of opera with regular bouts of both.
Anne's cancer was diagnosed in early December, 1999. She fought it with a calm and brave determination, unfailingly positive and taking comfort from her religion. Home chemotherapy, made possible by the availability of pump technology, enabled Anne to be at home with her family. Her husband Jack and mother Carmel were towers of love, support and strength and, of course, Anne wanted to be with her sons.
We saw Anne for the last time on April 10, just three days before she died. Still at home, she was in good spirits, although weak. We spent a lovely couple of hours with her, Carmel and Jack, interspersed with occasional visits from the boys. We gossiped a lot, giggled a bit and put the world to rights. How thankful we are that in the end things were quick and not protracted.
Anne's death reminds all of us that not only is life too short but we never know just how short it may turn out to be. The positive aspect is the number of lives touched by Anne's illness and the ways in which it made people reflect on their own lives and priorities. Anne was a special, wonderful person as well as a special pharmacist and we are already missing her.
Mr FORBES POWRIE (chairman, Institute of Pharmacy Management Internaitonal) writes: It was with great sadness that the IPMI learnt, at its conference last weekend, of the death of Anne Anstice. Anne had attended and reported on our conferences for many years for Pharmacy Magazine, of which she was the editor. For several years Anne had attended with her husband Jack and their two young boys Matthew and Martin.
Anne always reported our conferences with integrity and enthusiasm, often mentioning to us subjects that she thought were suitable for a management conference. To all the institute members Anne became a friend and not just a reporter. To Jack and the boys we offer our prayers and sincere condolences.