Prof. Anthony Aquilina, Department of Translations and Terminology Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta, writes:
A distinguished Frenchman who loved Malta and the Maltese passed away on August 5.
Jean Alfred Arnéodo, whose parents had emigrated to France from the mountain regions of Piedmont, was French by birth, born in Les Arcs on January 20, 1924. The advent of World War II saw him taking active part in the French resistance movement.
He then brilliantly pursued law studies in Aix-en-Provence from where he obtained his CAPA in 1947. He also successfully read for a master’s degree in philosophy at the University of Reading in the UK. His professional career saw him occupying various administrative posts until he became general secretary of Poitiers University.
It is here that I had the honour to make his acquaintance some years before he retired. I was one of three beneficiaries of a scholarship scheme he championed in the mid-1980s to help promising Maltese students move on with their academic careers in France. And I can’t thank him enough for this opportunity which opened so many doors for me as well as for having piloted me towards a brilliant director of studies (M. François Durand) who I still emulate to this very day in my rapport with students under my tutorship.
Other things come to mind when I reminisce about M. Arnéodo. He was a perfectionist, insisting on the importance of communicating one’s ideas clearly and in writing, even if it were a simple rendez-vous message for an excursion or a cultural visit which he concocted for my benefit, at intervals.
I still remember his impeccable handwriting on the billets he used to leave for me at the reception desk of the Récidence Descartes where I was staying during my first year at Poitiers way back in 1986-87. I also remember how strict he was with regard to punctuality and always appearing in the right dress code.
He was generous by nature but inflexible on these two characteristics. Here we definitely saw eye to eye, as well as on a good number of subjects we discussed whenever we met. Possibly, the only little thing toning down our relationship was a relatively long beard I sported, which in my eyes gave me an artistic look while in his represented one of the hallmarks of sloth. He was not the type to beat round the bush either and told me so to my face the second time we met. Needless to say, I humoured him and shaved.
This rigour, which he also applied to himself, was never a fault but a line of conduct of the type that forges beautiful souls.
His connections with our island started long before one of his daughters (Roseline) married an eminent Maltese scholar in the field of education. Since very early in life, he was very enthusiastic about the Order of St John, whose charitable initiatives he supported very generously, and he regularly gave conferences about the Order’s history especially in his beloved region of Provence. Indeed, one of the prestigious honours which rewarded his journey in the service of mankind was the Bronze Medal Pro Merito Melitensi of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John.
Other honours were those of Membre d’Honneur des Oeuvres Hospitalières Françaises de l’Ordre de Malte, Médaille d’Argent des Services Militaires Volontaires, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Commandeur de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques and Chevalier de L’Ordre National du Mérite.
I’m sure that God in His infinite mercy has already granted him eternal rest as he rightly deserved.
Cher Jean, c’est avec respect et amitié que je vous dis adieu.