David Karnosky (Oct 12, 1949 – Oct 24, 2008)

David Karnosky (B.S. Forest Science 1971, M.S. and Ph.D. Plant Breeding and Genetics 1972, 1975, respectively) passed away at age 59 on Oct. 24, 2008, in Chassell, MI. David, beloved member of the inaugural class of Forestry at UW-Madison, was originally from Rhinelander, WI. At the time of his death, he was a member of the faculty in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI. David is survived by his wife of 38 years, Sheryl Karnosky of Chassell, MI; two sons, David of Chassell and Jason of Madison, WI; and two brothers, William and Brian, both of Rhinelander, WI.

Click here to view David’s full obituary. 

Click here to read more about the inaugural class of ’71.

Jeff Martin (Mar 29, 1943 – Dec 13, 2021)

In Loving Memory, from Jeff’s son, John:

In the last days of 2021, Jeff Martin, retired UW extension and professor of forestry, and mentor and friend to many passed away. Jeff was my father, and it is with great sorrow that I write these words of remembrance and pride. If you were lucky enough to know Jeff, you probably remember his engaging and encouraging conversations (and sometime skeptical eye rolls), and you may have also been aware of his curiosity and his varied interests that ranged from photography, fly fishing, wood working, and a scholarly consumption of history.

Jeff’s persona, the one that often brightened the halls of Russel Laboratories, grew from his upbringing in a second generation, rural newspaper family that was committed to knowledge, communication, and rural life. Part of Jeff’s upbringing was a shared commitment to a life on the land, a life committed to working with people who share this connection to the land, and a commitment to the land itself (which in Jeff’s case was a small farm and woodlot on the Maple River in Elsie, MI).

Jeff spent his early days reading tall tales from Jack London, and Outdoor Life, and doing his best to live a life of exploration, chasing game animals, slinging lines, building unsuccessful traps/skis/snowshoes, training dogs, tending trees, and dreaming of far-off lands and wild adventures. A handful of his experimental tree plantings survive to this day, most notably a tulip poplar, tucked away on the edge of what remains of the old woodlot. Jeff got his introduction into the field of forestry through an uncle, Lester Bell, who was an academic and extension forester with Michigan State University. This calling spoke to Jeff, and he longed for adventures in the forests of the West. He completed a BS, MS, and PhD in forestry from Michigan State University. During his early schooling he worked multiple seasonal jobs with the USFS in WY and CA, filed many slide carousels of images of western mountain vistas and western forest scenes, and decided to settle down with the love of his life, Jan.

As a newly minted PhD, Jeff made his way to WV in 1969, to work in the crucible of public land management of that era. His interests were focused on the nation’s source for high value southern hardwoods. Jeff’s work included numerous and diverse projects and publications on southern hardwood forestry, ranging from hauling cost simulations, to taper equations, and harvesting residue sampling methods. Jeff’s work at the time was revolutionary due to his pioneering use of the “computer”… that happened to reside one-hour away at Virginia Tech. In fact, one of Jeff’s most successful projects at the time was the development of a multiple linear regression program in FORTRAN that was freely available for “download” (translation: computer punch cards containing the program were printed by the USFS and mailed around the country to be read by the handful of computers in existence).

During this time, Jeff developed southern roots, a family grew, and a life of exploring nature was shared with my brother and myself. There was considerable fishing, duck and grouse hunting, and countless family hiking weekends to simply see a new spot, vista, or special grove of trees.

In 1983, after being pulled harder and harder to relocate to bigger USFS offices in DC, a new opportunity with UW Extension led our family to Wisconsin. Here, Jeff built a professional connection to some new favorite things: forest landowners who shared with him a connection to the land, and students on their way to working in and for our forests. As one of these students, who was lucky to have Jeff in the classroom and in summer camp, it was with great joy that I got to see him in action, and see his relationships and mentorships with other students, who, because of Jeff, form my large network of forestry colleagues and forestry friends. A large part of his work was his tireless devotion to private landowners, the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association, and producing outreach/ education materials for the public that are still in circulation today (and used by me, every year, with a whole new group of students). In 1996, he helped shepherd Wisconsin forestry advocate and landowner, Rachel Jordon, to become the National Tree Farmer of the Year. 

In 1999, Jeff happily retired because, well, he could, and he scoffed at the idea of being offered a reduced rate parking pass… “what would I use that for!?” he told me once, “it’s someone else’s time” (this is paraphrased and spun a bit, for decency). Looking forward to a second career, Jeff followed another passion: sharing beautiful images (mostly of forests) with the public. Many of these images grace the walls of places he worked and visited, and many are on the home walls of agency professionals. Also, since he was retired, he gladly took on the task of making sure the trout population of the Driftless region was never lonely, and happily did this mostly during the week when the rest of us were occupied.

Over the years, Jeff got more reflective, and we talked in depth about forestry education, recoupling the academic with the action in forestry, and shared many books about human history and natural history related to forestry. Many of the books I use for my own classes were gifted to and vetted through him. He said once, “I’m giving you this book back, you and your students need to read this.”  Jeff saw the diverse power of forests and how they influenced the lives of those who work for and live in them. I was fortunate to have had a life guided by this caring and curious person; by someone who loved, so much, the entity he devoted his career to, and by someone who cherished the actions of this career where he got to help understand, and got to help others understand, this love of something so important. I am filled with sorrow knowing that he and I can no longer stroll in the woods, cameras around our necks, but I am thankful for the time I had, and we all had with Jeff Martin.

Our family knows Jeff would have loved to help fund future Forestry Club activities, student travel, and the cost of attending summer camp. The last two years have been difficult for fundraising due to missed Christmas tree sales, so please consider supporting the UW Forestry club in Jeff’s name.

Jonathan G. Martin (class of ’97)

Associate Professor of Natural Resources – Forestry

Northland College

 jmartin@northland.edu

A Celebration of Life was held in memory of Jeff on May 22nd at Lakeview Park, Middleton. To learn more about Jeff Martin’s life and read his full obituary, visit: https://www.gundersonfh.com/obituaries/Allen-Jeffrey-Jeff-Martin?obId=23405295.

Orrin Rongstad (Apr 22, 1931 – Aug 4, 2022)

Orrin Rongstad, age 91, of Middleton, passed away on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. He was born on April 22, 1931, in York, Wis Orrin graduated from Osseo High School as valedictorian in 1949 and then attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire until 1952, when he joined the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from the Air Force Officers Candidate School in 1953 and was honorably discharged in 1957. Orrin then continued his studies at the University of Minnesota with a degree in Wildlife Management and furthered his education at the University of Wisconsin with a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and Zoology in 1965.

Orrin married Bernice Satter in 1962, and they had three children together, Kurt, Neil, and Amy. They settled in Middleton in 1967, where Orrin took a position at UW in the Department of Wildlife Ecology, serving as advisor, teacher, researcher, and department chair. After retiring, Orrin continued his deer research and helped with the introduction of the elk into Northern Wisconsin. He also took up golf and continued to hunt and fish. His favorite activity was spending quality time with his family and friends.

After joining the faculty in Wildlife Ecology in 1967, Orrin went on to provide 23 years of meritorious service to the department, pioneering research efforts including the use of Calcium-45 labeling in mammals for population analyses, methods for calculating survival statistics in wildlife populations, and many more. Moreoever, Orrin displayed remarkable dedication to extension and teaching.

A memorial service was held at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Middleton, WI in August 2022. Orrin received a full military rights and burial ceremony as he was laid to rest. To read more, see Orrin’s full obituary here.

 

This article was posted in Emeritus Faculty.