Ludvik (Lud) Anthony Prevec PhD, university instructor, research virologist, and former Hamilton Association President, was born on 19 August, 1936, in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, to parents who were both immigrants from Slovenia. He died in Burlington, Ontario, where he had long resided, on 29 March, 2020.

After growing up in Kirkland Lake, a major gold-mining community 240 km north-west of North Bay, he attended the University of Toronto, from which he graduated in 1959 with a B.A. degree in Physics and Geology. His interest in geology, particularly that of the Kirkland Lake region, was life-long, resulting initially in student summer jobs in the mines or out prospecting. Indeed, some years after he graduated he obtained a permanent Ontario Prospectors licence and registered a number of mineral claims. Although none of these led to fame or fortune they did provide an excuse for many happy hours tramping through the bush around Kirkland Lake. Changing fields shortly after getting his B.A, he obtained a M.A. in 1962 and a Ph.D in Medical Biophysics in 1966, both from the University of Toronto. In 1967 he joined the Department of Biology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, specializing in virology and in later years also in immunology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. His research focussed on RNA animal viruses. Working with a technology engineered by colleague Dr. Frank Graham, he developed an anti-rabies vaccine for selected animal species that was adopted by the Province of Ontario. After 29 years as an instructor and research scientist, Dr. Prevec retired in 1996 with the rank of Professor Emeritus. In retirement, he was a member of a McMaster-focused team that produced a potential SARS vaccine. He was deeply interested in how present-day virologists are responding to the COVID-19 virus.

Lud served two terms as president, 1996–97 and 1997–98, and was an effective and highly valued member of Council from 1994 to 2011. After his terms as president he served for 10 years as our senior da Vinci Award judge at the annual Bay Area Science Fair, applying his understanding of how good scientific research is conducted, and his sound judgement, to hundreds of students` submissions. He also researched and wrote articles for the HAALSA website`s Archives section.

Not the least of his contributions throughout his time as member of Council and as President, were his efforts to come up with noteworthy speakers, not only in biology but also in geology and northern exploration, two of his other major interests. In doing so he was able to draw on the support and talents of his considerable network of friends and professional colleagues, both at McMaster and elsewhere. A professional virologist, in 2004 he presented a fascinating lecture to a HAALSA audience about developments in his own field, "Viruses and Vaccines — Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow".

Lud was an enthusiastic and knowledgeable proponent of Dr. John Rae, the famous Arctic explorer — he once wrote that "Any friend of John Rae is a friend of mine." — and as such maintained ties with Fatal Passage author and HAALSA speaker Ken McGoogan and, too, with members of the Orkney-based John Rae Society.

A 20‑year Life Member, Dr. Prevec was a guiding force and good friend to the Association, always interested in helping it prosper. He is dearly missed by all who knew him.