Dr. S. Jonathan Stern, marine ecologist, whale biologist, Professor at San
Francisco State University, and Jungle Stud, died on February 16, 2017. He had
just turned 62 on February 2.
Jon grew up in San Rafael, California, did his undergraduate degree at Sonoma
State University, his master's work at San Francisco State University, and his
Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. He spent his first summer after his bachelor's
degree working on the invertebrate display tanks at the University of
Washington's Friday Harbor Labs (FHL) on San Juan Island. There, he also began
his life's work studying minke whales at the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor.
From that start, Jon became one of, if not the, leading expert on minke whales
in the world. His work there was also the beginning of his regular sojourns to
FHL for field work, scientific inquiry, and a love of Puget Sound, the islands,
the labs, and especially minke whales.
In 2008, Jon made an important discovery in San Francisco Bay - after a
complete absence of more than 60 years, harbor porpoises had returned to
reoccupy the bay on a daily year-round basis. He considered this a good news
environmental story that should be shared and studied. To that end, he
co-founded Golden Gate Cetacean Research, a nonprofit organization devoted to
conducting research on the cetaceans of the bay and the Northern California
coast. Over the years, this work expanded to include studies of the local
bottlenose dolphin population, and the recent phenomenon of humpback whales
feeding in San Francisco Bay.
Talking science with Jon was all at once exhilarating, confusing, inspiring,
and intensely thought provoking. Participating in his soft-spoken, but highly
animated explanations of random walks, levy flights, mathematical models, and
just the crazy gee-whiz, can-you-believe-this tidbits ("minke whale breath
smells like broccoli!!!") were always an exercise in keeping up, asking
questions, and experiencing the feeling that Jon would explain it 17 times if
needed because he simply liked making sure you understood what he was talking
about. Jon was always accessible, talking to any interested person, kids of all
ages, budding undergraduate students, all the way to the most recognized names
in our field. People naturally gravitated to Jon for his ideas, humor,
understated grace, joy, and simple love of knowledge. He genuinely believed in
those around him and was equally delighted when someone could explain a novel
concept to him. He was a champion of his friends, colleagues, students, and
those who wanted to learn, always complimenting, sharing enthusiastically, and
openly generous with collaboration and resources.
Jon also had a deep love of music, an incredible collection of guitars, and
enjoyed playing and singing with his band, The Jungle Studs. He loved his pug
Robert (pronounced Ro-BARE), spoiling him like a child. He appreciated good
food, extolling the virtues of a perfect crab cake. He admired beauty, keeping
a picture of Linda Ronstadt on his desk, in an office adorned with Christmas
lights.
Not only was Jon an excellent thinker, scientist, teacher, and mentor, but he
was an amazing friend. If you knew Jon for more than about four minutes, you
were his friend. He was incredibly kind, an amazingly warm, non-judgmental, and
wise listener, and his unwavering faith and endless enthusiasm for those he
cared about was uplifting to so many. Personal stories from those who shared a
friendship with Jon run the gamut from hysterically funny, sad, touching, and
serious. But the underlying threads to the stories are his loyalty, quiet but
enthusiastic support, genuine care, laugh out loud humor, gentle understanding,
and seemingly endless capacity to simply be there when you needed him.
Losing Jon leaves behind a very large hole, in the scientific world, the music
realm, and in our hearts. He will be greatly missed and the meaningful ways in
which he contributed to so many lives are truly an inspiration for how to live.
We are forever and intensely grateful for the time we had with Jon and are so
incredibly lucky to have shared his spirit, love, knowledge, enthusiasm, and
friendship.
Family and friends of Jon's are in the process of setting up a memorial
scholarship fund. Inquiries on how to contribute to this fund can be sent to
Carolyn Kurle (cku...@ucsd.edu<mailto:cku...@ucsd.edu>).
Submitted in his memory by:
Leslie Cornick, William Keener, Carolyn Kurle, and Graham Worthy
_________________________________________________________________________
Graham A.J. Worthy, Ph.D.
Department Chair and Pegasus Professor,
Provost's Distinguished Research Professor of Biology,
Hubbs-Sea World Endowed Professor of Marine Mammalogy,
Director, Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab, and
Lead, Sustainable Coastal Systems Initiative
Department of Biology, University of Central Florida,
4110 Libra Dr., Room BIO302A
Orlando FL 32816-2368
graham.wor...@ucf.edu<mailto:graham.wor...@ucf.edu>
http://sciences.ucf.edu/biology/PEBL/
https://www.facebook.com/BiologyUCF
407-823-1333 office
skype: graham.worthy
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