In Memoriam 



77 



itor was extraordinary. He was a perfectionist 

 and a superlative editor second to none, but 

 his efforts always brought out the best in au- 

 thors. Those who submitted manuscripts for 

 John's editorial scrutiny often found them re- 

 turned with a profusion of red ink on the 

 printed text. When his recommended changes 

 were made, the greatly improved manuscripts 

 always told the story better. 



Many Kentuckians may best remember 

 John for his devoted service to the Kentucky 

 Academy of Science (KAS). He served as Ab- 

 stract Editor of Transactions of the Kentucky 

 Academy of Science (TKAS) from 1981-1995. 

 John then assumed the position of Editor of 

 TKAS in 1996. He had the title changed from 

 Transactions to Jou rnal of the Kentucky Acad- 

 emy of Science (JKAS) in 1998 to better reflect 

 its mission and content. Under John's editor- 

 ship, all JKAS manuscripts were peer-re- 

 viewed to meet the highest standards. Since 

 John worked without assistance, he was en- 

 tirely responsible for all organizational aspects 

 of each JKAS issue. The stature of the JKAS 

 as a multi-disciplinary journal of state and re- 

 gional scientific literature was greatly en- 

 hanced because of his dedicated efforts. 



John received many awards and honors dur- 

 ing his career. One of his most esteemed hon- 

 ors was having a mint in the Lamiaceae that 

 he discovered in Louisiana named for him. In 

 1964, botanist Lloyd H. Shinners named this 

 new species Scutellaria thieretii Shinners. 



John received the 1984 Distinguished Ken- 

 tucky College/University Scientist Award from 

 the Kentucky Academy of Science for his sig- 

 nificant academic research and teaching con- 

 tributions to the Commonwealth. Most re- 

 cently, John was presented the 2005 Outstand- 

 ing Academy Service Award from the Ken- 

 tucky Academy of Science for his outstanding 

 editorial contributions to the JKAS. 



To commemorate his contributions to the 

 Northern Kentucky University Herbarium, it 

 was officially renamed the John W. Thieret 

 Herbarium by the Northern Kentucky Uni- 

 versity Board of Regents on 22 March 2006. 



In 1994, The John W. Thieret Research 

 Award was established by John as an annual 

 award to the NKU student who accompUshed 

 the most significant research. The Thieret 

 family would like to continue this student hon- 

 or, and have asked that donations in his mem- 



ory be sent to the Northern Kentucky Uni- 

 versity Foundation, designated to that award. 



John is survived by his devoted wife of 55 

 years, Mildred Thieret, his five children, Rob- 

 ert, Nancy, and Jeffrey in Minnesota, Richard 

 in China, and Jennifer in Highland Heights, 

 seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchil- 

 dren. 



John Thieret was one of the patriarchs in 

 North American plant taxonomy, and one of 

 the last great field naturalists. His death marks 

 the ending of a botanical era, but his legacy 

 continues through the work of many former 

 students and colleagues. John was an inspiring 

 and stabilizing mentor who enriched the lives 

 of those who knew him. He will be greatly 

 missed by all. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



I am especially grateful to Mildred Thieret 

 for graciously sharing her memories about 

 John and providing photographs of her hus- 

 band. I also acknowledge contributions from 

 Ronald L. Jones, Eastern Kentucky University, 

 David M. Brandenburg, Dawes Arboretum, 

 James O. Luken, Coastal Carolina University, 

 Debra K. Pearce, Northern Kentucky Univer- 

 sity, and Barney L. Lipscomb, Botanical Re- 

 search Institute of Texas. 



PUBLICATIONS 



Baird, J. R., and J. W. Thieret. 1985. Notes on Themeda 



quadivalvis (Poaceae) in Louisiana. Iselya 2:129-137. 

 Baird, J. R., and J. W. Thieret. 1988. The bur gherkin 



(Cuciimis anguria var. anguria, Cucurbitaeae). Econ. 



Bot. 42:447-451. 

 Baird, J. R., and J. W. Thieret. 1989. The medlar {Mes- 



pilus germanica, Rosaceae) from antiquity to obscurity. 



Econ. Bot. 43:328-372. 

 Baird, J. R., and J. W^. Thieret. 1993. Spaitina. Pages 



1296-1297 in J. C. Hickman (ed). The Jepson manual: 



higher plants of California, University of California 



Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. 

 Beal, E. O., and J. W. Thieret. 1986. Aquatic and wetland 



plants of Kentucky. Kentucky State Nature Preserves 



Commission, Scientific and Technical Series, Number 



5, Frankfort. 



Brandenburg, D. M., W. H. Blackwell, and J. W. Thieret. 

 1991. Revision of the genus Cinna (Poaceae). Sida 14: 

 581-596. 



Brandenburg, D. M., J. E. Estes, S. B. Russell, and J. W. 

 Thieret. 1991. One-nerved paleas in Cinna arundinacea 

 L. (Poaceae). Trans. Kentucky Acad. Sci. 52:94-96. 



Brandenburg, D. M., J. E. Estes, and J. W. Thieret. 1991. 



