Hello,
Via Chris Mah: “I'm sorry to announce that Bishop Museum lost Dr. Lu
Eldredge a few week ago, a good colleague & a good man.”
Lu Eldredge will be known to many as editor, with Dennis Devaney of the
1987 edition of the book ‘Reef and Shore Fauna of Hawaii’, and for his
keen interest in invasive species, especially in Hawaii.
I think he was a subscriber to this list in its early days.
Geoff
Obituary
LUCIUS GILBERT ELDREDGE, III
1938 – 2013 Lucius Gilbert Eldredge, III, was born in East Greenwich,
Rhode Island and grew up on the family farm. Lu met Joann Travell, the
love of his life, in 1957 and they were married the following year. Lu
received his BS in zoology from the University of Rhode Island in 1959. Lu
and Jo set off to Hawaii for a grand adventure, where they had four
daughters while he earned his PhD in invertebrate zoology from the
University of Hawaii in 1965. Lu was on faculty at the University of Guam
from 1965 to 1987, among his roles serving as the Director of the Marine
Laboratory from 1967-1971 and Interim Director of the Micronesian Area
Research Center from 1982 1984. He surveyed flora and fauna of Guam and
the Northern Mariana Islands, and completed fieldwork throughout the
Caroline, Marshall, Line, and Hawaiian Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Taiwan and
Indonesia, and numerous other islands. On sabbatical, he earned his
Master’s of Library Studies from University of Hawaii in 1987. Following
retirement from the University of Guam, he worked for the Regional Seas
Directories and Bibliographies at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture
Organization in Rome, Italy. Lu joined the staff of the Bishop Museum in
1989 to take up his position as the Executive Secretary of the Pacific
Science Association. He continued his work on the impact of invasive
species, serving on the Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative and the Federal
Invasive Species Advisory Council. He was a founding member of the Hawaii
Bishop Research Institute and was appointed as its Executive Secretary in
1990, a position he kept until his death. He retired from the Museum in
2012 but continued to work on keeping files of every publication known on
the fauna of Pacific Islands and co-edited the annual Records of the
Hawaii Biological Survey (a record of all native and introduced species to
the Hawaiian islands) since its founding in 1992. He was world renowned
for his investigations of animals introduced to the Pacific islands from
outside sources, where they came from, when, and their current status.
Throughout his career, Lu mentored young scientists, consulted with
government agencies and published extensively. Lu was loving father, whose
daughters could swim before they could walk and learned from him to
appreciate the beauty and diversity in the world. He was a gourmet chef
and gracious host and his house was the gathering place for celebrations
small and large. He had a generous and optimistic spirit, a sympathetic
ear, and a big heart. Lu was preceded in death by Jo, his wife for 52
years, and Emelyn, his daughter. He is survived by daughters Sarah Partain
(Portland, OR), Deborah Eldredge, (Portland, OR), and Rebecca ‘Nani’
Eldredge (Kaneohe, HI); grandchildren Kay and Jeff (Portland, OR); and
sisters Charlotte Blaine (Scituate, RI) and Harriet Brisson (Rehobeth,
MA). We are saddened by Lu’s sudden illness and passing, and are bolstered
by his many friends who have shared stories about his adventures. In lieu
of flowers, donations can be made to the Bishop Museum, earmarked for the
Hawaii Biological Survey, and mailed to the Hawaii Biological Survey at
1525 Bernice St, Honolulu, HI 96817-2704.
http://obits.staradvertiser.com/2013/05/10/lucius-gilbert-eldredge-iii/
