He was a quiet, unassuming man who never spoke much about himself. Most of what we know about his life had to be pieced together from the memories of others.

Prof Govender was affectionately known to his family and peers as “Teddy”, a nickname that was a direct English translation of his original Indian first name. His Head of Department at that time, Prof Theodore Sarkin, found it easier to call him Teddy, so it stuck.

He was an exceptional scholar. He came from a humble background having been raised on a farm in rural KwaZulu-Natal, walking barefoot to school and sharing desks with his classmates. He would learn by candle light.

He was then chosen to study overseas in India at Mumbai’s Grant Medical College,  from 1969 to 1974, where he completed his degree Summa Cum Laude.  Every year he was the top performer in his class. An achievement that has earned him much respect in India. His diligence and academic achievements made him somewhat of a celebrity on campus. He apparently inspired all his roommates to wake up early and dedicate themselves to their studies.

Prof Govender subsequently returned to South Africa to complete his post graduate studies in Orthopaedics under Prof Sarkin. He wrote and passed his primary exams during his internship, a feat never achieved before. He then spent some time in Dublin writing the English surgical primaries and intermediates. He obtained the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1979. During his spinal fellowship training in the UK and US he met his mentor who started ward rounds at 06h00, and only drank tea during theatre slates. A habit that certainly resonated with him.

He then returned to Durban as a specialist orthopaedic and spinal surgeon. He was the Principle Orthopaedic Surgeon at King Edward Hospital by 1986, and became Professor and Head of Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Natal in 1997. He completed his doctorate in the field of spinal trauma in 1999. He was also the founding head of King Dinizulu (then King George) spinal unit in Sydenham. During his tenure as Head of Department he also serves as the President of the East, Central and Southern African Orthopaedic Association and the President of the South African College of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He served the UKZN department of orthopaedics as head of department until reaching the mandatory university retirement age in 2012. However, after retirement from that role he continued relentlessly, dedicated to service delivery and postgraduate teaching and training in spinal surgery.

While gentle he remained an imposing figure, who spoke with authority and commanded your attention. He was often the “judge’s hammer”, armed with his knowledge of the literature, he often settled debates at congresses and academic meetings with the last say. He never stopped learning and reading. There were always journals and textbooks at his bedside. He maintained that we should learn from ourselves and our patients.

He was at heart a shy person that never craved attention for his personal achievements as much as he wanted it for his students and theirs. He did not need or want medals, he was a teacher, seeing his students prosper was award enough. A very humble man, he spent a considerable portion of his retirement dedicating his time to his charity feeding scheme. Few knew he funded numerous food parcels drives for the informal settlements around their hospital.

He produced KZN’s and Africa’s first spinal surgeons, in times when many local graduates found it too expensive to travel abroad to learn. He always maintained that Africa needed to listen to African research because our patients did not fit the mould of other continents.

This was a combined effort authored by Prof Len Marais, Dr Rinesh Chetty and Dr Joe Mabusha