WALTER COURTENAY Obituary

COURTENAY,

WALTER R., JR., 80

Gainesville - Walter R. Courtenay, Jr. died at Gainesville, Florida, on January 30, 2014 at age 80. He was born in Neenah, Wisconsin, on November 6, 1933, son of Walter Rowe and Emily Simpson Courtenay, both deceased. The family moved to Nashville, Tennessee in February, 1944, where his father was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. He completed his B.A. degree at Vanderbilt University in 1956 and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Miami in 1965.

He served as a faculty member at Duke University (1963-65), Boston University (1965-67), and Florida Atlantic University at Boca Raton (1967-1999) where he twice chaired the Department of Biological Sciences. At various times he also held research appointments with the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard University), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Arizona State University. He served as consultant on introduced fishes for the Fishery Resources and Environment Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Budapest and Rome in 1988, for the Foundation for Research Development, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa in 1988, for South Australia Department of Fisheries, Adelaide, Australia in 1989, and for the Office of Technology Assessment, Congress of the United States, in 1991-92. After retirement he relocated to Gainesville, Florida, where he continued his research alongside colleagues at the University of Florida, several of whom he collaborated with on various projects and publications. In 2000 he was made fellow emeritus of the American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists. In 2007, at the annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society in San Francisco, he received their Lifetime Achievement Award.

Walter was an ichthyologist and a leading authority on invasive nonindigenous fish, particularly those introduced into the United States. Among his numerous publications are Distribution, Biology, and Management of Exotic Fishes (1984), coedited with Jay Stauffer, and Snakeheads (Pisces, Channidae), a Biological Synopsis and Risk Assessment (2004), coauthored with James D. Williams. In his final years he held the position of Courtesy Curator for the Florida Museum of Natural History at Gainesville and Research Fishery Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, at the Florida Integrated Science Center in Gainesville.

Walter was predeceased by his beloved wife, Patricia, who passed away in early 2007. He is survived by his brother, William J. Courtenay of Madison, Wisconsin; stepmother Ann S. Courtenay of Advance, North Carolina; son, Walter R. Courtenay, III of Cary, North Carolina; and daughter Catherine C. Kantner, her husband Barry and granddaughter Caitlin of Gainesville, Florida; and his children's mother Francine S. Courtenay of Ocala, Florida. In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be made to Haven Hospice, 4200 NW 90th Blvd, Gainesville, Florida 32606.

Arrangements are under the care of WILLIAMS-THOMAS FUNERAL HOME WESTAREA, 823 NW 143rd Street. Please visit his memorial page at

www.williamsthomasfuneralhome.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

WILLIAMS-THOMAS WESTAREA

(352) 376-7556

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Gainesville Sun on Feb. 10, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for WALTER COURTENAY

8 Entries

Harold Tyus

June 18, 2014

Walt was a leader in alerting world fisheries interests about the adverse effects of introducing nonnative fishes. He was an excellent scientist and a warm and generous person. I had the opportunity to wok on a river trip with him in 1987, and take great enjoyment in watching a video he made of it.

Buck Snelson

February 22, 2014

Walt Courtenay was an important mentor and advisor to me early in my career. He, along with Carter Gilbert and Dick Robins, were generous in sharing guidance, direction, and insight when I first moved to FL in 1970. He will be missed as a colleague, scientist, and conservationist.

Gary Meffe

February 22, 2014

I met Walt in the late 70s at meetings of the Desert Fishes Council when I was a Grad student. We immediately shared a passion against invasive exotic species, and he served as a great role model for this young student. Friendly, accepting, informative, passionate....Walt will be missed.

Jan Jeffrey Hoover

February 22, 2014

Walt was my undergraduate professor and adviser at FAU in the 1970s, a mentor and valued colleague from then on. He shared his enthusiasm and his encyclopedic knowledge of fishes generously and unflaggingly, and was a pioneer in the study of (and crusade against) invasive species. He was always cheerful, entertaining, and a pleasure to be around. Walter Courtenay was an outstanding example of a lifetime teacher, scientist, and conservationist.

William Kennedy

February 15, 2014

I knew Walt while he was at FAU and had the highest regard for his work. He will be remembered as a friend and scholar.

Linda Hersh

February 13, 2014

Please accept my sincere condolences.

R. Grant Gilmlore, Jr., Ph.D.

February 11, 2014

I knew Walt as a friend and colleague for 40 years and, unfortunately, just heard of his passing. Walt was a generous and helpful individual, as well as an excellent biologist. Walt was loved and respected professor as evidenced from a number of his students who are my own life long friends. His sense of humor is unmatched in the field of ichthyology. When asked to roast fellow ichthyologists at the 1976 ASIH meetings he had us all on the floor. He will be sorely missed by this colleague.

Wayne Starnes

February 10, 2014

Our field lost a great one in Walt and one of the warmest colleagues I knew.

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