Neville Shelton Weerasekera – A remarkable life of service

By Dr Nihal D Amerasekera

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not attained by sudden flight.
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
H.W. Longfellow (1807-82)

Neville Shelton Weerasekera’s (NSW) is my maternal uncle. His father was an apothecary, a noble man from Kandy and his mother, a hospital nurse, from Ibbagamuwa near Kurunegala. My first recollection of NSW is from Nugegoda. I then lived with my grandparents and started schooling at St. John’s in 1947. He was then poring over his books studying for the Senior School Certificate (SSC).As a kid I admired his energy, his attention to detail and his creativity. He made us colourful kites, planes from paper and tractors from cotton reels. In 1950 he had the unenviable task of taking me, an eight-year old on his first day to Wesley College. I was mesmerized by the elegant sweep of the magnificent buildings which was to be a large part of my life for a further 12 years. The fears, nerves and excitement of that experience has remained in my memory ever since.

He had his early education at Kingswood College, Kandy (1937-44) when Mr F.A.J Utting was principal. He joined Wesley College in 1945 and remained until 1950 during Rev. James Cartman’s tenure. Right from the beginning the sciences and mathematics stimulated and excited him. He was determined and dedicated. NSW worked tirelessly and achieved excellence academically winning the much coveted Gogerly Scholarship for the best results at the SSC. I recall, in whatever he did he was meticulous and thorough.

A new Engineering faculty was to open at the University of Ceylon with the first intake in 1950. NSW decided on a career in engineering. But at Wesley there were no teachers allocated for this ‘brand new’ degree. It fell upon Rev Cartman to appoint and designate tutors for students to sit the all important University Entrance Examination. NSW has great praise for the principal for his foresight and support.

JAB Gogerly and NSW entered the University of Ceylon in 1950. They belonged to the pioneering group of students of the newly formed faculty of engineering and came under the tutelage of Prof E.O.E Pereira, the Founder of the Faculty. The Professor is recognised as the father of modern engineering education in Sri Lanka. NSW’s brilliant university career was completed with a first class honours degree bringing great honour to the family, school and himself.

In 1955 he joined the Shell Company of Ceylon as an Executive Technical Assistant. The company sent him abroad for further studies. In the U.K 1957-59 he was trained at the Hawker Siddeley Group. He also followed specialist training on petroleum products with the Shell Company. In 1963 NSW was elected a Chartered Mechanical Engineer in the UK.

During his training with the Shell Company from 1959-64 he was appointed Technical Manager for the Company. In that same year because of his exceptional combination of skills, he obtained an assignment with Shell International Petroleum, in London, as an Executive in the Product Applications Dept. From 1966-68 he was the Senior Scientific Officer, Tropical Products Institute, London.

Despite this meteoric rise in the profession, he had the urge to return to his roots and to Sri Lanka. Chemical Industries (Colombo) Ltd recognized his experience and ability and appointed him as their Product Manager. His heart though was in petroleum and joined The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation in 1969 as a Senior Manager. Here NSW held a variety of engineering positions gaining wide experience in the field. He possessed the gravitas and the skills to be appointed the Engineering Manager of the Oil Refinery in 1971. In the top job NSW exemplified traditional values of probity, integrity and competence. His gently probing style and disarming courtesy, especially with politicians, made him one of the most respected and skilful managers in the business.

In 1975 he obtained a position with PETROMIN, a Saudi Government Oil Organization, as the Assistant Manager of the Jeddah Oil Refinery. Prodigiously hard-working, his expertise and intelligence was soon recognized. In 1976 he became the Project Director for the rapidly expanding Jeddah Oil Refinery. He is a pragmatist and possessed the gift and the ability to make a cool decision in the heat of a fierce debate. Success came after much effort and teamwork. His work was greatly valued and in 1980 was appointed the Project Director of the Refinery in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia.

In the 1980’s I had the good fortune to work in brief spells at King Khalid Hospital, on the outskirts of Jeddah. To me it was a new challenge which I enjoyed enormously. NSW and I had a marvellous opportunity to bond again since our younger days. It was a sublime and memorable experience. In the cool of the evening, we visited the souks, ate delicious “shawarma” and wandered through the narrow cobbled alleys of the magnificent old city. At the weekends we drove into the desert to experience its inhospitable terrain and to sense its unending vastness.

Jeddah is an exciting place, but scary at times. It was a surreal existence in an Oasis. The privations of life would be enough to challenge the most intrepid of men. But life can be good and work can be most rewarding. It never rains over there but when it does large parts of the city goes under water. A few days after the rains the desert comes to life with flowers, birds and insects. The landscape transformed into a carpet of green.

Urbane and gregarious NSW made a good life in that oasis. The Sri Lankan expatriate community in Jeddah was small and everybody knew everybody else. They all kept together trying to kill the pain of isolation from their own culture. The tall and vigorous “karapincha” tree behind their house in Jeddah was ample tribute to his wife, Suvendrini’s fine Sri Lankan culinary expertise. When he lived alone he cooked for me at weekends and I recall the fine seer fish curry he made which ignited my taste buds. The non-alcoholic beer never tasted better!!

He was always aware of the limitations of chasing money and had always led a sensible and frugal life. A good-natured Christian, NSW combined humane instincts with a firm grasp on reality. Wherever he worked he was not just admired but loved. Despite the uncertain future and the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka, in 1989 NSW resigned from Petromin and returned home, to spend his retirement with his extended family. He has fulfilled his aspirations to a comfortable retirement and leads a quiet life with his wife and family in Wellawatte. He is close to his daughter and son and enjoys the love of his grandchildren.

NSW continues to serve and contribute to society. He has always been proud of his Wesley connection and has been in the Wesley College Old Boys Union and in its committee in gratitude for those rewarding years spent at the school. Neville Weerasekera has been a generous donor and has supported the school in all its functions.

NSW is the quintessential old school gentleman who has the wonderful ability to remain calm in the most difficult of situations. He has the capacity to accept the status quo and also forgive and forget. These attributes have helped him enormously all through his illustrious career and beyond. Many pay tribute to his generosity and sensitivity. He now lives happily with all the sagacity of a nonagenarian. We wish him well in the months and years to come.