John W. Thieret (1926-2005)-Botanist, Teacher, Editor, Author, Mentor, and Friend

Castanea, Jun 2006 by Thompson, Ralph L

John W. Thieret, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at Northern Kentucky University, retired Director of the Northern Kentucky University Herbarium, Associate Editor of Sida, Contributions to Botany, and Editor of the Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science passed away on 7 December 2005, at Alexandria, Kentucky. He was 79 years old.

An internationally recognized American plant taxonomist, John was a gifted field botanist, exemplary teacher, acclaimed author, splendid editor, fine herbarium director, inspiring mentor to students and colleagues, and a friend to all who knew him. Although John dearly loved his family, his great passion was plants; he was focused on botany his entire life.

John was born on 1 August 1926, in Chicago, Illinois. During his youth, he was interested in plants and became an avid botany student during his school days at Hyde Park High School, Chicago. He earned his B.S. in Botany in 1950 and his M.S. in Botany in 1951 from Utah State University, Logan. John received his Ph.D. in Botany in 1953 from the University of Chicago through the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History. His dissertation was "Gross Morphology of the Seeds of the Scrophulariaceae and Classification of the Family."

Later in 1953, John became Assistant Curator of Economic Botany at the Chicago Field Museum and then Curator of Economic Botany from 1954 to 1961. John authored 26 publications during that time and his special interests in the Poaceae and Scrophulariaceae were evident in his publications. John published five new nomenclatural combinations and three articles on the flora and vegetation of the Canadian Northwest Territories while at the Field Museum.

From 1961 to 1973, John was Associate Professor and Professor of Biology at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, Lafayette (USL). At USL, he 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 discovered in Louisiana: Cyperus breuifolioid.es Thieret & Delahoussaye (Delahoussaye and Thieret 1967); Limnophila Xludoviciana Thieret (Thieret 1972a); Isoetes louisianensis Thieret (Landry and Thieret 1973); and Cyperus louisianensis Thieret (Thieret 1977a).

From his work at USL, John published 11 nomenclatural combinations. In addition, he published two Louisiana plant surveys (Reese and Thieret 1966, Thieret 1971a), several new United States or North American plant records, and five more articles on the Canadian Northwest Territories.

John made his final academic career move in 1973, when he joined the faculty at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) in Highland Heights, as Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. He served as Chair until 1980 and continued as Professor until retiring in 1992, with the title Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences.

John loved teaching and was an excellent teacher in the classroom, laboratory, and field. His classes were challenging, enjoyable, informative, and popular. John was a strong believer in providing students with actual plant specimens, either fresh or dried, for a "hands-on" approach, and he went to great effort to accomplish that goal. In the field, John's passion for botany was especially contagious and he always felt rejuvenated after a field trip with students. John generously shared his expertise and enthusiasm for botany, especially plant taxonomy, with students, colleagues, and the public for the next 32 years.

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 professional career, John authored at least 157 refereed journal articles and book articles. Numerous articles appeared in Bartonia, Canadian Field-Naturalist, Castanea, Economic Botany, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, Rhodora, Sida, Contributions to Botany, Taxon, and Transactions / Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science. In addition to journal and book articles, and 19 nomenclatural combinations, John wrote 136 book reviews, 65 articles for Encyclopaedia Britannica, 46 articles for Encyclopedia Americana, and many popular science articles.

During his tenure at NKU, John was the author or co-author of five books: Louisiana Ferns and Fern Allies (Thieret 1980); Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Kentucky (Beal and Thieret 1986); Trees: A Quick Reference Guide to Trees of North America (Mohlenbrock and Thieret 1987); Assessment and Management of Plant Invasions (Luken and Thieret 1997); and National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wild/lowers: Eastern Region (Thieret et al. 2001). His books continue to serve many audiences, from professional botanists to amateur plant enthusiasts.

John authored or co-authored 58 refereed journal articles at NKU. He frequently collaborated in research activities and publications with current and former undergraduate and graduate students, younger NKU colleagues, and other professional botanists (e.g., Thieret and Brandenburg 1986; Baird and Thieret 1988; Luken and Thieret 1995, 2001; Naczi and Thieret 1996). Indeed, he was a mentor whose enthusiasm was contagious and inspired botanists from other Kentucky institutions to get involved in Kentucky research activities. As a prime example, John's encouragement inspired Ronald L. Jones, Eastern Kentucky University, to write a flora for Kentucky. John served as Editorial Associate and contributed the Poaceae treatment for Jones' comprehensive book, Plant Life of Kentucky (Jones 2005).