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On this page we honor the memory of past TWS members and notable wildlife professionals whose contributions will not be forgotten. To suggest or submit an obituary please email
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G. Blair Joselyn (1934-2010)
Blair Joselyn, a leader in wildlife research in the upper Midwest, died on December 15, 2010 in Forest Lake, Minnesota at the age of 76. Blair was the Wildlife Research Supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from January, 1975 until his retirement in June, 1999. Continue reading. Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer David L. Grove was shot and killed in the line of duty while on patrol on November 11, 2010. Grove, age 31, of Fairfield, Pennsylvania, was investigating reports of ongoing night-time shooting and possible poaching activity in the area. Grove dedicated his life to wildlife and the great outdoors. He loved spending time with people who shared his passions of hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation, and he took every opportunity to make a difference, whether as a hunter education instructor, a field officer or a private citizen. Continue reading On July 18, Ralph Arthur Bitely of New Bern, NC passed away at Carolina East Medical Center. He was 77. After graduating from Michigan State University in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife, he worked as a biologist for both the West Virginia Department of Game and Fish and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Continue reading On July 11, the profession lost a friend, mentor and colleague when Dr. John Crawford passed away at the Hospice House in Bend, Oregon after a short illness. He was 63 years old. Like many wildlifers, John had a rural upbringing that resulted in a life-long appreciation of wildlife and natural resources. He was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to parents Joseph and Regis Crawford and raised on their family farm where he honed his keen observational skills. He learned to hunt at an early age and continued throughout his life. Continue reading Walter F. Crissey, preeminent waterfowl populations researcher and pioneer in the use of aircraft for wildlife studies, died on December 20, 2009, in West Palm Beach, Florida, at age 94. Walt was a member of The Wildlife Society for some 69 years, 1938-2007, a year short of being a charter member. Crissey was born on November 4, 1915, on a farm west of Ithaca, New York. He walked daily to a 20 student single-room school. His farm life and guidance by his father, a hunter, fisherman, and trapper, prepared him well for wildlife studies. Later, Walt availed himself of free tuition and the family Model T, to attend Cornell University, majoring in game management. In 1937, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree. Continue reading  The wildlife profession lost a pioneer in animal population studies on February 3, 2010 with the passing of Dr. Dennis H. Chitty at the age of 98 in Vancouver, Canada. “Dennis Chitty`s ideas on population regulation spawned an ocean of research and placed him amongst the leading authorities on this topic, elusive since [Charles]Elton`s major insights and observations,” says noted Canadian conservationist Shane Mahoney. “Indeed, the notion of genetic difference between populations at low and high density remains tantalizing. He was a giant in his time.” Born in Bristol, England in 1912, Chitty spent much of his life between the United Kingdom and Canada. Continue reading
 On February 20, 2010, wildlifers lost a visionary leader when Sam Hamilton, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), passed away on a skiing trip in Keystone, Colorado, having just attended a FWS regional leadership meeting. He was 54. Hamilton assumed the top job at FWS when he was sworn in as director in September 2009. During more than 30 years with the Service, Hamilton helped establish a carbon sequestration program in the Southeast Region, oversaw Service-related cleanup and recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and helped guide restoration of tens of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat, notably in the Everglades. Hamilton was also a great supporter of The Wildlife Society. Continue reading
George Knebel Brakhage will be remembered fondly by his family and friends as a good husband and father, a good friend, a pioneer in waterfowl management, and a steadfast conservationist. George was born June 2, 1925 and grew up in Watertown, South Dakota. His mother, Mattie Gertrude (Peggy), was a nurse and his father, George Fredolf, was a well driller. He loved animals and kept many pets growing up, including rabbits, pigeons, and a little dog. He helped his father with the drill rig and started driving a car when he was 12 years old. Continue reading Young wildlife professionals Kelson Michael Vaillancourt, 21, and James Abram Schneck, 23, died in a car accident in May 2009 on their way to conducting a bird count, part of their job as temporary workers for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Continue reading a remembrance of the two men written by TWS member Bridgette Flanders-Wanner. On March 25, 2009 Richard D. “Dick” Teague died at the age of 84 following a long and distinguished career as a wildlife biologist, extension educator, and university administrator. Dick, as most of his friends and colleagues knew him, was born and raised in Colorado and grew up on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. He finished high school at Colorado Springs in 1942, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy after a brief period at Colorado College. Continue reading Long-time TWS member and McDonough Award winner John Raymond Morgart died at his home in Edgewood, New Mexico, on October 14, 2009. Donations in his name can be made to The Wildlife Society for the COWCH Program, which gathers and archives interviews of leaders in the wildlife profession for posterity. Continue reading  Albert Wilhelm (Al) Franzmann, age 78 of Soldotna, Alaska, died on February 13, 2009. He was born in Hamilton, Ohio, the son of William and Louise (Schlichter) Franzmann who both preceded him in death.Al graduated in 1948 from Ross Township high school in Butler County, Ohio. He then entered the Ohio State University and was awarded membership in Phi Zeta national veterinary medicine honorary fraternity and was awarded the Gamma Plaque as outstanding senior veterinary medical student. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho (agriculture) and Alpha Psi (veterinary) fraternities.
Al married Donna Grueser on December 13, 1953. They were a devoted couple in marriage for 55 years. Their son Karl was born in 1955 and daughter Louise in 1959. Continue reading
 Malcolm W. Coulter, Ph.D. (1920-2008)
Malcolm W. Coulter (“Mal”), a leading New England wildlife conservationist, died on August 2, 2008 at his home in Eddington, Maine at the age of 87. He grew up in Connecticut on his family’s dairy and tobacco farm, where he fished, hunted, and trapped the surrounding waters, woods, and fields. Mal earned a B.S. degree from the University of Connecticut (1942) and immediately started graduate work at the University of Maine. In 1942 he entered the U.S. Army (88th Infantry Division), serving in both Africa and Italy, and was awarded a Bronze Star in 1944. Mal completed his M.S. degree in wildlife conservation in 1948 and became the assistant leader of the Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit as well as an instructor in wildlife management at the University of Maine (UM), Orono (1948-1968). While in these positions he worked on a Ph.D. at Syracuse University, finishing in 1966. He then moved on to become the associate director of UM’s newly formed School of Forest Resources, having the lead responsibility for the wildlife program. He served as the first chair of the Department of Wildlife Ecology when it was created a few years later. Continue reading
We lost a very good friend and valuable wildlife professional with the passing of Lowell K. Halls November 9, 2008 in Nacogdoches, TX. He was unique. Lowell had a zest for life, and enjoyed it to the fullest. Here are some of the many personal images I have of him. He always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He was always up for a good time and shared a laugh. He enjoyed happy hour with his friends to the fullest; but didn’t drink. He really enjoyed fishing the East Texas lakes, hunting deer with buddies in the Texas Hill Country, racquetball with competitors much his junior, and float trips with his sons in Utah. He was always so disciplined, but not judgmental of others. Continue reading
James D. Range, 63, died peacefully, surrounded by family and loved ones, on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, after an extraordinarily courageous battle with kidney cancer. Range was one of the nation’s most prominent champions of natural resource conservation. He was known in Washington, D.C., and throughout the United States as a skilled policy strategist with an extraordinary bipartisan network of friends and contacts. Along with his political adeptness, he possessed an oratorical gift and was known as someone who always spoke from his heart with passionate conviction. A lifelong outdoorsman, Range was instrumental in the conservation and continued protection of many different corners of the American landscape and was a passionate advocate for the country’s fish and wildlife and their habitats. Perhaps best known as a long-time advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, he also was known personally to countless people as a beloved confidant, friend, and mentor. Continue reading In Memory: Richard Huenefeld, a wildlife biologist and member of The Wildlife Society since 1996, died August 31, 2008 at his home in Tacoma, Washington, at the age of 42. Huenefeld received bachelors and masters degrees in natural resources science from Washington State University, where he had served as president of the TWS student chapter. He spent much of his career conducting ecological risk assessments, and helped design field surveys in the Yucca Mountain area to determine which biological resources might be affected by storage of nuclear waste. Huenefeld coauthored a paper in the Wildlife Society Bulletin in 2000, analyzing chemical deterrents that could keep caribou away from roads. Most recently, he headed a project to study bald eagles on the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. Huenefeld’s obvious love of wildlife conservation prompted several of his friends and colleagues to send donations in his name to TWS, a fitting tribute. The Wildlife Society deeply regrets the loss of James Joseph McDonough, one of the founding members of TWS New England chapter. See full obituray and memorial service details TWS deeply regrets the loss of Dr. David Maehr, Associate Professor of Wildlife at the University of Kentucky, who died in a plane crash in Florida while conducting bear research. See memorial page TWS Pays its Respects to Glen C. Sanderson
 Renowned wildlife researcher and administrator Dr. Glen C. Sanderson passed away on March 22. He was 85 years old. After serving in World War II and working for seven years with the Iowa Conservation Commission, Dr. Sanderson joined the Illinois Natural History Survey, where he had a remarkable career spanning 45 years. Dr. Sanderson was the director of the Section of Wildlife Research for 27 years. Although he retired in 1990, he maintained a very active emeritus position until his death. Dr. Sanderson served on and chaired numerous national committees for The Wildlife Society, including Position Statements, Publication, Terrestrial Publications Awards, Information Publicity, Committee Charges, Bylaws, and Historical Affairs, among others. He also served as editor of The Journal of Wildlife Management in 1971 and 1972 and The Wildlife Society Bulletin in 1987. Dr. Sanderson has received many professional honors, including the 1992 Aldo Leopold Award, the Honorary Life Membership, and TWS regional and state Professional Awards of Merit. Dr. Sanderson is survived by his wife of 60 years, Beverley, his son, Bill, and his daughter, Laurie Doug. TWS deeply regrets the loss of FAU researchers Gareth Akerman, Philip Heidemann and Damion Marx  | 
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| | Gareth Akerman | Philip Heidemann | Damion Marx |
Dedicated young wildlifers Gareth Akerman, Philip Heidemann, and Damion Marx died March 13 in a plane crash, along with their pilot, Jeff Rozelle, while conducting a wading bird survey in Florida’s Greater Everglades Region. Heidemann and Marx were graduate students at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and active members of the TWS Florida chapter. Akerman was a research technician at FAU. The three men were involved in projects examining how wading birds respond to alternative management regimes. Akerman, Heideman, and Marx “shared a passion for conservation research, for protecting nature, and passing it on to future generations,” says Dale Gawlik, an FAU associate professor and head of their lab. “They truly believed, and lived the belief, that they wanted to be a part of the solution for managing natural systems.” To honor them, FAU has established memorial scholarships in their names as well as a memorial fund to facilitate student research in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. TWS deeply regrets the loss of C. W. (Bill) Severinghaus
C. W. (Bill) Severinghaus, 90, passed away at his home in Edinburgh, New York, on July 6, 2007. A founding member of TWS, Severinghaus became an Honorary Member in 1987. He was an internationally recognized authority on the biology, life history, management, and population dynamics of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), having spent over 40 years conducting research in the United States and Canada. Barry A. Garrison died unexpectedly on June 8, 2007. Barry worked for the California Department of Fish and Game and was an active member and leader of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society. Paul F. Springer, a life member of The Wildlife Society and Certified Wildlife Biologist, died on May 2, 2007, at the age of 85. He spent his entire career, since 1947, employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a research biologist.
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