Herluf Gyde Lund III

"Herluf Gyde Lund III (Gyde) peacefully passed away on July 6, 2024, at the age of 85 at his residence in Gainesville, Virginia, in the company of loved ones.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Dora; his children Daniel (Jan), James (Diana), and Katherine (Marc) Blondin; and his siblings Judy Williams, Jerry Lund, and John Bryan. He was preceded in death by his infant son Christopher, sister Barbara Stephenson, and parents Eugene Lund and Edith Bryan.
Born in St Louis, Missouri, Gyde's passion for nature and the woods was evident from a young age. After high school, he joined Army ROTC and earned a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from Utah State University.
Upon serving two years of active duty in the US Army in Germany as an Imagery Interpretation Officer, he married Dora. While employed as a civil servant and raising a young family, Gyde earned a Master of Science in Forest Fire Sciences and Remote Sensing from the University of Washington.
Gyde went on to have an illustrious career with the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service, where he worked in nearly every aspect of forest inventory-from being a crew member in the Alaska wilderness to heading up the timber inventories on National Forests Lands. As an expert in his field, Gyde authored more than 150 publications on the subjects of forest inventory and remote sensing. He was a mentor to many and shared his knowledge with peers around the world.
After retiring, he served as a consultant on significant projects for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other international organizations. He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by University of Washington in 2000, and with an official recognition for his contributions to the work of the IPCC, which was bestowed with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
In his personal life, Gyde was humble and introverted-a keen observer of the world who found true joy in the small pleasures of life. He was the type of person who preferred an old, rustic cabin in the woods to a glitzy hotel; a chuckwagon dinner reminiscent of the Old West to dining at a Michelin-rated restaurant; the serenity of a ponderosa pine forest in the mountains to the hustle and bustle of the big city.
To maintain a bond with nature in retirement and share this enthusiasm with others, Gyde enjoyed the hobby of hand-crafting walking sticks out of local forest dead wood and selling them at neighborhood craft shows.
Gyde possessed a sharp wit and often displayed his love for friends and family by cooking and sharing delicious meals with them - St. Louis-style BBQ ribs were his specialty.
He travelled the world with Dora for work and pleasure, and shared their adventures with others via lovingly-created reports and slideshow presentations.
His legacy is one of dedication, kindness, a deep love for his family, and a hope of harmony for mankind.
A beloved husband, father, brother, and accomplished forester, Gyde will always be remembered and greatly missed.
A private dinner will be held to honor Gyde's life, per his wishes. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that a tree be planted in Gyde's memory, but no doubt he'd prefer a forest."