CMC mourns the passing away of Dr. Chinoy Chacko on April 17, 2014.
Dr. Chinoy John George Chacko was an alumnus of the batch of 1950, a batch which contributed no
less than eight heads of Departments to CMC. After completing his MD in Pathology, he joined as
faculty in 1961. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree by Madras University in 1971. For about two
decades Dr. Chacko held a dual appointment: as Professor of Pathology in CMC and as Pathologist
and later Head, Radda Barnen Laboratories of the SLR &TC, Karigiri. He was appointed Head of
Pathology in 1988 and retired from CMC on September 7, 1991. His wife, Mrs. Accamma Chacko
served the cause of Nursing Education and Service in CMC with equal distinction and dedication,
retiring as the Nursing Superintendent.
Dr. Chacko was a quiet, unassuming and gentle person ‘in whom was no guile’. He had a profound
and enduring commitment to the goals and mission of this institution and sought to serve this cause
in diverse ways. As a teacher, he was sensitive to the special needs of the diffident, academically
poor and demoralized student and made considerable efforts to find ways to help them and reinforce
their confidence. As a colleague, he showed great empathy and tried to bring out the best in others,
gently urging them to break new ground, apply newer and more effective methods for teaching,
diagnosis or research and to participate in professional conferences and workshops. The large
laboratory team in Pathology, from the attenders, technical staff to faculty, was made to feel that the
contribution of every one mattered as an essential part of the whole. In his interpersonal dealings, he
was consistently courteous and generous. He had no pretensions about himself and had the capacity
to laugh at himself and his limitations. He harboured no ill-will against those who differed from him
or even opposed him. These, added to his innate cheerful disposition and optimistic outlook, almost
invariably elicited co-operation of others. Dr Chacko was a keen Christian, a socially conscious,
warm and sincere colleague. His concern for the spiritual nurture of students was expressed in his
leadership of Bible Study for numerous batches of medical students. At these he functioned as an
unobtrusive moderator, encouraging the students to personal study, reflection, sharing and leadership.
As the Head, Branch of Laboratories, SLR&TC Karigiri, he had the herculean task of providing
essential laboratory services for the hospital and its large field work area, including leprosy hospitals
in India and neighboring countries. He also conducted in-service/ refresher training for doctors and
technicians. He persevered with significant research studies at Karigiri, which included mouse foot
pad appraisal for drug resistance, drug and immunology assays, laboratory collaborations for
epidemiological assessment of compliance, response to treatment and drug resistance. Dr. Chacko’s
seminal contribution was the demonstration of nasal mucosa as the primary portal of entry of
M.lepra arising from his lifelong study of the pathology of nasal mucosa in leprosy. His infectious,
enthusiastic persuasion had attracted young research-minded doctors to work in Karigiri for varying
periods of time and he mentored several medical students, pathology postgraduates and PhDs to
researching various aspects of leprosy. He was known to often give a ride in his car to leprosy
patients struggling to travel the lonely, hot and (then) dusty road between Sevur village and the
SLRTC campus. He was a role model, who worked with enthusiasm in an unpopular, but socially
significant field.
Dr. Chacko was among the founding members of the Ida Scudder School Association – a group who
recognized the vital importance of a good English medium Christian school in Vellore and gave
selflessly of their substance, time and effort to this cause. He served for several years with
commitment, distinction and vision as the Correspondent of the Ida Scudder School and later as a
member of its executive and management committees. The school has proved to be a blessing to
countless staff families of this institution and to the public of Vellore at large.
On retirement, Dr. Chacko chose to go back to his roots in his ancestral village of Pallom in Kerala to
continue the good work started there by his aunt, the anatomist Dr. Liza Chacko. He and his wife
Accamma immersed themselves in, and gave of their own and of the extended family’s resources, to
a long list of social needs and causes, including the rejuvenation of the Bishop Jacob Memorial
Hospital, Buchanan High School and Teachers Training School, the medical mission of the larger
church and the needs of the senior and destitute citizens. Having identified the urgent need to combat
alcoholism in the community, he introduced the ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ concept, starting a vibrant
group which helped many persons to be recovering alcoholics. He was also instrumental in setting up
counselling programmes, particularly marriage and adolescent counselling, for the Madhya Kerala
Diocese. But through it all, his love for CMC endured and he participated actively in the meetings of
the College Council for as long as possible.
It takes many different kinds of people to make up the many coloured fabric of CMC and surely the
remembrance of such a gentle self-effacing person who always strove for the welfare of others and
the progress of CMC will endure as an exemplary part of it. To his wife, Mrs. Accamma and their
children - Deepa, Tara, Shobha and Uday - the CMC community extends its sincere condolences at
this time of grief and loss.
To God, we are grateful for the life and witness of Dr. Chinoy Chacko.