In Memoriam 



75 



Museum, he made collecting trips to Cuba, 

 Mexico, the northern Great Plains of the Unit- 

 ed States, and the Northwest Territories of" 

 Canada. John authored 26 publications during 

 that time and his special interests in the Po- 

 aceae and Scrophulariaceae were evident in 

 his published works. John published five new 

 nomenclatural combinations while at the Field 

 Museum. He also wrote three articles on the 

 flora and vegetation of the Canadian North- 

 west Territories. 



John left the Field Museum to become As- 

 sociate Professor and later Professor of Biol- 

 ogy at the University of Southwestern Louisi- 

 ana, Lafayette (USL), from 1961 to 1973. At 

 USL, he sponsored undergraduate research 

 projects and directed six M.S. theses and one 

 Ph.D. dissertation. During this period, John 

 conducted most of his personal research in the 

 southeastern United States, with an emphasis 

 on the Louisiana flora. At USL, he authored 

 or co-authored 47 articles. John named four 

 plant species new to science that he discov- 

 ered in Louisiana: Cijperus brevifolioides 

 Thieret & Delahoussaye; Cijpems louisianen- 

 sis Thieret; Isoetes louisianensis Thieret; and 

 Limnophila Xludoviciana Thieret. From his 

 work at USL, John published 11 nomencla- 

 tural combinations. He also pubUshed his first 

 two generic flora treatments of the southeast- 

 ern United States, five more articles from the 

 Canadian Northwest Territories, and several 

 North American plant records. 



John made his final academic career move 

 in 1973, when he joined the faculty at North- 

 ern Kentucky University (NKU) in Highland 

 Heights, as Professor and Chair of the De- 

 partment of Biological Sciences. The oppor- 

 tunity to teach at NKU, the presence of the 

 Lloyd Library in Cincinnati, and relocating his 

 family to live in a cooler climate, were espe- 

 cially appealing to him. John served as Chair 

 until 1980 and continued as Professor until re- 

 tiring in 1992, with the title Professor Emer- 

 itus of Biological Sciences. 



John loved teaching and was an exemplary 

 teacher in the classroom, laboratory, and field. 

 His classes were challenging, enjoyable, infor- 

 mative, popular, and inspired many students 

 toward their full potential. He always was 

 available to students and colleagues for dis- 

 cussions about botany, academics, or just 

 about life. John was a strong believer in pro- 



viding students with actual plant specimens, 

 either fresh or dried, for a "hands-on" ap- 

 proach, and he went to great effort to accom- 

 plish that goal. In the field, John's passion for 

 botany was especially contagious and he al- 

 ways felt rejuvenated after a field trip with stu- 

 dents. 



At NKU, John taught 15 different courses 

 for the Department of Biological Sciences in- 

 cluding Agrostology, Aquatic Vascular Plants, 

 Dendrology, Field Botany, General Botany, 

 General Biology Lab, Horticultural Plants, Li- 

 braiy Resources in Biology, Plants and People, 

 Plants in Winter, Plant Taxonomy, Spring Flo- 

 ra of Kentucky, Summer Flora of Kentucky, 

 Trees of Kentucky, and Woody Plants. John 

 generously shared his expertise and enthusi- 

 asm for botany, especially plant taxonomy, 

 with students, colleagues, and the general 

 public for 32 years. His exuberance, magnetic 

 personality, and unparalleled depth and 

 breadth of knowledge were inspirations to ev- 

 eiyone his activities touched. 



For many years, John's summer activities 

 were focused on teaching at various biological 

 field stations. He served as Visiting Lecturer 

 in Botany at the Itasca Biological Station, Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota; the Oklahoma Biological 

 Station, University of Oklahoma; the Michigan 

 Biological Station, University of Michigan; and 

 the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory, Ohio 

 State University. John enjoyed the flora of 

 cooler climates, and biological stations provid- 

 ed Mildred and his active children (Robert, 

 Nancy, Richard, Jeffrey, and jennifer) new en- 

 vironments to experience. He also conducted 

 major field travels in the southeastern, south- 

 western, and northwestern United States, the 

 Great Basin of Nevada and Utah, and the Ca- 

 nadian Arctic, Newfoundland, and Ontario. 



Scientists are often judged by the number 

 of articles by them or about them. If this is 

 any measure of a person, John stands taller 

 than a coastal redwood. During his profession- 

 al career, John authored at least 157 refereed 

 journal articles and book articles. Many of his 

 articles appeared in Sida, Contributions to 

 Botany. He also pubHshed in Bartonia, Ca- 

 nadian Field-Natnralist, Castanea, Economic 

 Botany, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, 

 Rhodora, Taxon, and the Transactions/Journal 

 of the Kentucky Academy of Science. In ad- 

 dition to books, journal articles, and 19 no- 



