Jon Crawford "Kip" Staiger

1938 - 2020

STAIGER,
JON 'KIP' CRAWFORD
Jon 'Kip' Crawford Staiger, age 81, died April 29, 2020, in Gainesville, Fla. Born in 1938 in Milwaukee, Wis., to John G. and Jane C. Staiger, he spent his childhood in Kenosha, Wis., Grosse Pointe, Mich., and Lake Worth, Fla. He graduated from University of Michigan in 1960, where he was a proud member of Sigma Nu fraternity, earned his MS at Boston University in 1962, and his PhD in 1970 from University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, where he studied deep sea fishes. He married Susan Thornbrough in 1962, and they raised two daughters in southern Fla.
From academia, he moved into business, developing major environmental monitoring and remediation projects to address hazardous waste pollution. He turned to public service in 1986, serving as the Natural Resources Manager for the City of Naples, Fla., where he worked tirelessly to conserve and protect those resources and was greatly respected for his consensus building ability and his broad scientific and historical knowledge. After retiring from the City in 2004, he continued to work in marine consulting and coastal resource management, including coastal resiliency projects in the Mississippi River Delta. He was appointed by the governor to the Big Cypress Basin Board, was active with the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association and other professional and scientific societies, and served on the board of the David Lawrence Center for Behavioral Health in Naples.
He had a great and abiding love for the ocean and spent many days at sea for research and pleasure, taking him around the Caribbean, across the Atlantic, and to the ocean depths. He was an expert boat handler, loved to tinker on boats of all sizes, and was a highly skilled SCUBA diver and fisherman. He was also passionate about music, particularly opera, was a supporter of the Naples Philharmonic and Sarasota Opera, and served as Chair of Classic Chamber Concerts in Naples. He had a keen interest in Civil War and WW I and II history, was a collector of military paraphernalia, and an avid traveler. Along with his wife, he passed on his love of the ocean, curiosity about the natural world, and appreciation for the arts to his daughters, who are forever grateful.
Jon is survived by his wife, Susan T. Staiger of Miami, daughters Sarah Jane Staiger of Miami, and Jennifer S. Staiger, and son-in-law, William J. Barichivich of Gainesville. He was laid to rest at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery near Gainesville. A service will follow at a date to be determined. If you wish to honor his life, his family asks you consider donating to Alachua Conservation Trust (alachuaconservationtrust.org) or the David Lawrence Center (davidlawrencecenter.org).
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