Obituaries of the members of the Ohio Academy of Science Report of the Necrology Committee, 2007

Ohio Journal of Science, The, Dec, 2007 by William R. Burk

The Necrology Committee of The Ohio Academy of Science, chaired since 1992 by Historian-Archivist Ronald L. Stuckey, consists of William R. Burk, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N C; Christopher Cumo, Canton, OH; and Relda E. Niederhofer, Firelands College of Bowling Green State University, Huron, OH. The committee expresses its gratitude to the following individuals and institutions for providing information: Virginia Bentz, Dublin, OH; T. Howard Black, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Eastern Illinois University; Kristine L. Blair, Professor and Chair, Department of English, Bowling Green State University; Juliann Breeding, Educator, Parks and Recreation in Upper Arlington (Ohio), Columbus; James E. Canright, Professor Emeritus of Botany, Arizona State University; James D. Caponetti, Coordinator of Undergraduate Advising, Division of Biology, University of Tennessee; Stephen M. Charter, Reference Archivist, Center for Archival Collections, Bowling Green State University; Jonathan E. Chorpenning, Facility Manager, Ohio Veterans' Home, Georgetown, OH; Judy Siekeres Elphinstone, Portersville, PA; Timothy D. Gerber, Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus; Michelle Grigore, Director of Parks and Recreation, City of Bowling Green, Bowling Green, OH; Eddie Herdendorf, Professor Emeritus of Geological Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus; Bernard Hudson, Former Director, United States Soil Survey, United Sate Department of Agriculture; Bruce Leach, Head Librarian, Biological/Pharmacy Library, The Ohio State University, Columbus; Debra K. McLean, Administrative Assistant, Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University; Lee A. Meserve, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Bowling Green State University; Nick Myers, Video and Photography, University of Tennessee; Carol and Frank Norris, Knoxville, TN; Ronald H. Petersen, Professor Emeritus of Botany, University of Tennessee; Greg and Julia Pierce, Bowling Green, OH; Madeline Prather, Belpre, OH; Jean L. Romans, Superior, WI; Thomas W. Schmidlin, Professor of Geography, Kent State University and Jeanne Schmidlin, Kent, OH; Mary W. Scott, Geology Librarian, Orton Memorial Library of Geology, The Ohio State University, Columbus; Douglas L. Shrake, Division of Geological Survey, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus; William Slowter, Minneapolis, MN; Julie Weatherington-Rice, Senior Scientist, Bennett & Williams Environmental Consultants, Inc., Columbus, OH; Marilynn Wurzburger, Special Collections Librarian, Arizona State University; and Nick Wyman, Research Services Specialist, Special Collections Library, University of Tennessee.

The committee is seeking volunteers to provide information or to write obituaries on deceased members of the Academy whose obituaries have not yet been written for The Ohio Journal of Science. Please contact The Ohio Academy of Science if you can assist in this effort. A two-page outline of instructions for preparation of obituaries in The Ohio Journal of Science, written by Ronald L. Stuckey, is available from the author or the Academy office.

The following is a list of deceased members of the Academy with the year joined and date of death, if known, whose obituaries have not yet been published in the Journal.

WILLIAM R. BURK, acting chair Necrology Committee

Name                                    Date of Death   Year Joined

Winifred Catherine Prozeller Wirth          2006           1995

Roy Garner Bossert (1908-2007)

Roy Garner Bossert, age 99, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, died 10 May 2007 at Willow Brook in Delaware from natural causes. A teacher and scholar, Bossert had a productive relationship with his students, encouraging them to do original research. He joined The Ohio Academy of Science in 1938 and was elevated to Fellow in 1947. As a member of the OAS, Bossert was assistant vice president for membership and vice president for the chemistry section. A participant in the Visiting Scientists Program, Bossert gave lectures and demonstrations at several high schools. Bossert used these opportunities to urge students to pursue careers in science. He visited the chemistry classes at Rutherford B. Hayes High School in Delaware, Ohio, on 22 May 1962, so impressing chemistry teacher William L. Hoch that he expressed the hope that Bossert would return next year to deliver another lecture and demonstration. At Marion Harding High School in Marion, Ohio assistant superintendent C. W. Gabler praised Bossert's lecture on careers in science. Other school personnel lauded Bossert's ability to build rapport with students.

The son of James Morange and Jennie Josephine (McCutcheon) Bossert, Roy Garner Bossert was born 21 February 1908 in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. Roy Bossert received a B.S. (1930) from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and an M.S. (1933) and a Ph.D. (1936) from The Ohio State University, with all three degrees in chemistry. While a graduate student, he worked at the Aluminum Company of America. Bossert was an instructor (19361937) at the University of Kentucky and subsequently joined the faculty at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was an instructor (1937-1938), assistant professor (1938-1944), associate professor (1946-1949), professor (1949-1972) and professor emeritus (1972-2007). He held a Mellon Institute fellowship (1944-1946). Bossert was associate program director for summer institutes (1960-1961) at the National Science Foundation, chairman of the department of chemistry (1962-1970) at Ohio Wesleyan College, a researcher for the Institute of Paper Chemistry (summer 1941), and visiting associate professor of chemistry at The Ohio State University (summers 1947 and 1948). He conducted research at Ohio Wesleyan University (summers 1957 and 1958) under the auspices of Standard Oil of Ohio. Bossert was a consultant (19601968) to the National Science Foundation. An organic chemist, Bossert's chief duty at Ohio Wesleyan University was the teaching of organic chemistry. Secondarily he taught introductory chemistry and physiological chemistry.