A humble man, Dr Scattini did not want a retirement party in his honour.

However, as Katherine Town Council mayor Fay Miller said during her speech in the Katherine High School gymnasium, “there is no way this community could possibly let you or Marie retire without telling you how much you’ve been appreciated and how much you’ve been loved”.

“I don’t even see this many for a high school assembly,” Alderman Miller said.

Richard Morris reiterated her words before adding a few of his own.

“I would like to acknowledge the tremendous gathering of the Katherine community; it is … a testament to the regard and high esteem of which Dr Scattini and his family has held,” he said.

“I have always thought that Dr Scattini brought more to Katherine than just a license to practise medicine.”

Dr David Brummitt has worked with Dr Scattini for many years and said there had often been times where, due to necessity, he and others working in Katherine had their professional limits tested.

He added that Dr Scattini’s presence had a calming effect during high-pressure situations. 

“We all think, Jim’s here, we’ll be right,” he said.

It was a sentiment shared by others who had worked with Dr Scattini, including former Katherine Hospital employee Fran Wilson.

“David summed it up perfectly; it is a sentiment shared by all of us who worked with Jim,” she said.

Dr Scattini said he had not realised the impact he had made to generations of Katherinites until Friday.

“I guess I’d have to believe it now,” he said.

Now that he has retired, Dr Scattini said he would have time to reflect on his incredible career from the garden.

“I’ll be summarising a lot of the work I’ve done in the past, just for interest to do for myself,” he said.