[BSW] Passing of Dr. Stanwyn Shetler, Curator Emeritus (fwd)

[Kathy Bilton]

Botany staff  -  very sad news about Stan Shetler.   His son Stephen sent
this note to pass to everyone:

       It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr.
       Stanwyn G. Shetler on the evening of December 4th at around
       9:30 PM, age 84, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease.
       His daughter, Lara, was at his side. Dad was a man of many
       accomplishments who achieved a goal so few are able to claim;
       he left the world better than he found it. Rest peacefully,
       Dad.

       Stan was born on October 11, 1933, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
       He grew up in rural Hollsopple, PA and attended Johnstown
       Christian School, where his father was Principal and Stan
       therefore felt it prudent to graduate Valedictorian of his
       class. His interest in natural history began with bird watching
       in the sixth grade and was stimulated by his science teacher
       and fostered by his mother. Ornithology was a lifelong
       avocation.

       Stanwyn earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in 1955 and
       1958 from Cornell University after first attending Eastern
       Mennonite College (now University), Harrisonburg, Virginia.  He
       came to the Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural
       History of the Smithsonian Institution in 1962 directly from
       graduate studies at the University of Michigan, where he
       subsequently earned a PhD degree in systematic botany. He spent
       his whole professional career at the Smithsonian before
       retiring at the end of 1995. Beginning as an assistant curator,
       he rose to serve as associate director and then deputy director
       of the National Museum of Natural History.

       Stan’s naturalist interests were wide-ranging, but he was a
       recognized expert on the bellflowers (genus Campanula) and the
       flora of the Arctic. His publications number well over 100
       scientific, technical, and popular titles, including three
       books and the Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the
       Washington-Baltimore Area (2 volumes, 2002, 2002). The books
       are on Russian botanical history (1968), a monograph on the
       evolution of the New World harebells (Campanula rotundifolia
       complex) (1982), and the popular Portraits of Nature: Paintings
       by Robert Bateman (1986), which accompanied a Smithsonian
       exhibition by the same title organized by him in 1987.  He also
       edited the English translations of the last eight volumes of
       the 30-volume Flora of the USSR plus the general index volume.

       Dr. Shetler was program director of the international Flora
       North America Program, which pioneered in the use of computers
       for taxonomic information and set the stage for the subsequent
       effort to prepare a modern treatise of North American plants.
       The data produced from this project was among the first in the
       world to document the climatic phenomenon now known as global
       warming. His research travels took him across North America and
       to parts of South and Central America, Europe, Asia, and
       Australia.

       Stan was a frequent lecturer, teacher, and consultant through
       the years. He served on the board of the Piedmont Environmental
       Council (1985-88) and several terms (latest, 2006) on the board
       of directors of the Audubon Naturalist Society, including three
       years (1974-77) as president. He was a charter member (1982) of
       the Virginia Native Plant Society and served on the state board
       of directors as Botany Chair (1996-2003) and director-at-large
       (2004-2006). He taught plant identification courses for the
       U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School off and on since
       1963 and in the 1980s and 90s at Northern Virginia Community
       College.

       Honors include election as fellow of the American Association
       for the Advancement of Science (1994) for “contributions to the
       formation of electronic data banks and the computer registry of
       botanical specimens,” and fellow of the Washington Academy of
       Sciences (2002). Upon retirement he was appointed botanist
       emeritus by the National Museum of Natural History.

       In 1995, he received the Paul Bartsch Medal, which is the
       Audubon Naturalist Society’s top award for contributions to
       natural history and conservation. In 1988, he was invited by
       the Chautauqua Institution to present the featured lecture at
       the celebration of the late Roger Tory Peterson’s 80th
       birthday. He received the Piedmont Environmental Council’s
       Individual Award for Contributions to Environmental Improvement
       in 1981 for his role in drafting a Vegetation Preservation
       Policy for Loudoun County, Virginia.

       Stan was elected to membership in the Washington Biologists’
       Field Club in 1970 and served as vice president from 1981 to
       1984 and as president from 1984 to 1987.

       Dr. Shetler is survived by 2 sisters, a brother, a step-mother,
       his wife of 54 years Elaine, two children, and two
       grandchildren. His remains will be cremated and a memorial
       service will be announced at a later date.

       Any questions may be directed to me, Stephen Shetler, via this
       email address.

       Thank you,

       Stephen Shetler



(Note: email address referred to was not included in the email I 
received.)