Ian Stahle was born in Yarram, Victoria, the second son of Leon Stahle, a second-generation Australian of German/Swiss extraction – who was a pharmacist and land developer. The family lived in Richmond during Ian's early years and then moved for a year to a farm. He attended state school and aged 12 went to Scotch College, Melbourne. At school he was troubled by migraine but went on to enter medicine at Melbourne University. In the medical course his performance showed little sign of his later brilliance. At the university his colleagues called him “Olly”. A fellow student describes him as “dapper – always well dressed and quite a young man about town”. He was a member and secretary of the university tennis club. He was a good player and played a lot of tennis during his undergraduate years.

On graduation in 1941 he entered the army and was posted to Heidelberg Military Hospital. He worked with dermatological patients and came into contact there with the consultant dermatologist John H Kelly with whom he got on well and who encouraged his interest in this field. He was next posted to a recruit training camp in Townsville where he was stationed until near the end of hostilities. Then he was attached to a unit training paratroops and went to Singapore where he was involved in the release of his father, a prisoner of war in Changi Prison. He retired from the army in 1946 with the rank of captain.

After the war he chose a career in dermatology and set out first to study and qualify in general medicine gaining the MD Melbourne and the MRACP in 1946. In 1947 he went to Sydney and attended the course in dermatology for the Diploma of Dermatological Medicine, which he obtained in 1948.

During his studies he attended dermatology clinics at the Melbourne teaching hospitals. At the Royal Melbourne Hospital he was an assistant to the then dermatologist John H Kelly with whom he had previously worked and had great rapport and whom he later succeeded as dermatologist.

Like most of his generation, he pursued his studies in the United Kingdom and Europe. In London he obtained the MRCP. He attended the clinics of many eminent dermatologists in England, Europe and the USA.

On returning to Australia he commenced dermatological practice at 110 Collins St and soon moved to the newly built 100 Collins St Melbourne where he practised for the rest of his life. His time in dermatological practice spanned 50 years. He employed a series of young dermatologists as assistants in his rooms and this was for them a valuable learning experience.

He was dermatologist to the Royal Melbourne Hospital 1950-79 and was also Consultant Dermatologist to the Royal Women's Hospital 1956-80 and to the Queen Victoria Hospital 1960-80. From 1957 to 1981 he was a lecturer in the Pathology Department of the University of Melbourne. He was also a consultant to the RAN, RAAF and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. He was elected to Fellowship of the RACP in 1963 and the RCP in 1980. He was a Consultant Dermatologist to the Army and was in the Army Reserve, retiring in 1975 as a lieutenant colonel. In 1950 he became a member of the Dermatological Association of Australia and in 1967 was a foundation member and later a Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists.

After the war he married Beatrice Gray, a union that produced three children Jane, Peter and Philip. Later he remarried and was with his second wife Gabriella for 15 years.

He was an enthusiastic squash player and played regularly at the Naval and Military Club in their team. He always took his squash racquet to dermatological meetings to have a game at the end of the day’s program.

He was a keen investor closely following the futures market and stock exchange activity. He acquired a gold mine in Tasmania and spent a lot of money building a private road to it before discovering that it had been “salted” with introduced ore.

Ian was a regular participant in clinical meetings until near the end of his life and made use of his wide clinical experience to contribute pithy observations. He practised medicine until 3 days before his death. He died with bowel cancer and leukaemia aged 80 years. The Silver Medal of the Australasian College of Dermatologists was awarded to him posthumously in January 2000 for having rendered signal and valuable service to the College and was presented to his widow at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the College in May 2000.