Peter Howden was born in Auckland in 1911 and died on 6 July 2003, at the age of 91.

His medical family connections included a grandfather, his father, an uncle and two cousins. His father, Charles Ernest Howden, was a general medical practitioner at Waiuku, South Auckland, and Peter lived there except while his father served overseas in World War I when his mother took the family to her parental home at Peel Forest, South Canterbury.

Peter was educated at Waiuku Primary School and Kings College where he was a School Prefect, Head of School House, in the First Cricket XI from the 3rd Form, in the First XV and the Auckland Schools’ Golf Champion. While at the Otago Medical School he gained a university blue in cricket and represented Otago.

During World War II he served as a captain in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, and recalled giving a hundred blood transfusions on the first day of the Battle of El Alamein.

He married Win in 1944 and took over his father’s practice the following year. From then on, for many years he was dedicated to continuous call with “the whole family involved in the practice. It was not unusual to be warming up shocked car accident victims round the fire, making cups of tea or sterilising instruments on the stove.” He had a special interest in obstetrics, which he practised at the local Franklin Memorial Hospital and later at the Pukekohe Obstetric Hospital.

He was deeply attached to the family home, ‘The Hill’, with its two-acre garden, and at his memorial service the girls recalled building the concrete walls, the begonias in the glasshouse, Peter’s constant hand-weeding of the grass tennis court and his keen interest in taking and processing photographs. Holidays were often spent at Ha Hei and Rotorua and, when weekend rosters were finally established, the family greatly enjoyed Parekura Bay near Russell.

His love of golf is reflected in his having become a foundation member of the Waiuku Golf Club at the age of 10 and playing, more consistently in retirement, until he needed a spotter to follow the ball’s flight.

After practising for nearly 40 years in Waiuku, Peter retired in 1984 and, after Win’s death in 1996, remained at ‘The Hill’, with the help of his family and a dedicated group of caregivers, until a few days from his death.

He is survived by his sister June, his daughters Prue, Diana and Judy, and eight grandchildren.