Mr. Stanley Fernando was born in 1928 and had his secondary education at Holy Cross College Kalutara. Thereafter he entered the University of Ceylon and read for a degree in English and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was for a short time an Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services. After graduation he joined the Law College and passed out as an Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1957 and thereafter joined the Dept. of Inland Revenue.

He followed a course in Income Tax Law at the Inland Revenue Office in the United Kingdom and was awarded a Diploma. Mr. Fernando was a Lecturer and Examiner in Tax Law at the Sri Lanka Law College and Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. He is also a Founder Member and Fellow of the Sri Lanka Institute of Taxation. He has also written several articles on Taxation namely:- Judicial Review in Taxation, Uncommon Tax Cases and Admissibility of Evidence Illegally Obtained in Tax Investigations, which have been published in several journals, and is the author of "Tax Forum in Business Today".

He has successfully argued a number of Tax Appeals before the Board of Review and the Court of Appeal which have been reported in the Sri Lanka Law Reports and in the Sri Lanka Tax Reports. His writings to various journals on tax matters are still read with interest.

Mr. Fernando after graduating lectured in several schools and colleges and with that income he supplemented the family budget and helped his two younger brothers to complete their education. He supervised their studies. He was like a father to his younger siblings. A stern disciplinarian he brooked no nonsense and was outspoken. He was a good tennis player and took part in tournaments and won many trophies. He was honest, hard working and a man of integrity. Throughout the years he supervised guided and disciplined his five sons who are all professionally qualified and who are now married and hold responsible posts in the private sector.

Mr. Fernando’s eldest son is an accountant and Dr. Suresh and Trinesh are Attorney’s at Law, while Hemesh and Nimesh also obtained professional qualifications in IT and Marketing.

I persuaded him to resign from the public service and practice as a tax lawyer. By dint of hard work he built up a substantial tax practice and became one of the leading tax consultants. He had a good heart and helped friends and relations. He was always accessible to law students and litigants alike. Stanley and I completed 50 years in the profession and were felicitated by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka at a dinner at Blue Waters Hotel after the National Law Conference.

His demise is a great loss not only to his family but to the legal profession. He was above all a caring husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. We thank the Lord for his life, his lectures, his writing and his advice over the years.

May he rest in peace.