Lambertus Princen Obituary

PEORIA - Dr. Lambertus "Bert" H. Princen, age 78, of Peoria passed away Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008, at his residence in Peoria.

He was born Aug. 31, 1930, in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, to Herman H. Princen and Engelina C. (Verhoeckx) Princen. He married Greet Wiesen on July 14, 1955, in the Netherlands. She survives.

Other survivors are his son, Norman (Constance) Princen in Long Beach, Calif.; his sister, Jeanne (Frans) Bakermans in the Netherlands; his brother, Herman (Marie-Justine) Princen in the Netherlands; and sister-in-law, Andrea Princen in New Jersey

His parents and brother, Henry, preceded him in death.

He earned his Ph.D. on July 4, 1955, and his Doctoral of Science in Chemistry on Jan. 26, 1959, from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He was a postdoctoral at USC from 1955 to 1958.

He served in the Dutch Army from 1959 to 1960.

In September 1960, he came to Peoria for a two-year assignment at the USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research laboratory. He decided to stay and finished his 30-year career as the center director for seven years, retiring in 1990.

He then became editor-in-chief for the Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS) for eight years. He authored 78 scientific publications and held three patents.

He received many awards, including two USDA Superior Service Awards and an Award of Merit from the AOCS.

He was a member of the American Chemical Society for 46 years, where he served as chairman of several committees.

He also taught chemistry courses at Bradley University.

His life was full, with never a dull moment, always busy and always enjoying life. He was a great nature lover and took many people on field trips and introduced them to the wonders of nature. His primary interest was birds, but he also enjoyed insects, reptiles, orchids and other plants. He wrote many articles on bird sightings and wrote a monthly column for Adventure Sports Outdoors magazine for 11 years. He organized the Peoria Christmas Bird Counts and was the first to do a Spring Bird Count in Illinois.

He had traveled extensively to more than 40 countries and made video travelogues, which he showed at audubon societies and nursing homes as far as Chicago, Decatur, Iowa, etc. He was an avid musician and played many instruments, including accordion, piano, saxophone, clarinet, violin and viola. He played for 31 years with the Peoria Pops Orchestra, for which he was also the music librarian.

He was on the governing boards of the Forest Park Foundation and Three Sisters Park. He was on the boards of Lakeview Museum, the Sun Foundation and the Audubon Council of Illinois. He was several times the president of the Peoria Academy of Science, Peoria Audubon Society and the Peoria Orchid Society. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Peoria.

He donated his body to the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois in Chicago and the arrangements are being handled by the Cremation Society of Mid-Illinois Company, Pekin/Peoria.

There will be no services, but instead, there will be a Celebration of Life from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 9, at Barrack's Cater Inn. Friends and family are invited.

Memorials may be made to the Peoria Audubon Sanctuary Fund c/o Community Foundation of Central Ill., 331 Fulton St., Ste. 310, Peoria, IL 61602; or the Peoria Academy of Science Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 3412, Peoria, IL 61612.

Online condolences may be made at csmico.com.

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

Published by Peoria Journal Star on Oct. 30, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for Lambertus Princen

7 Entries

Marjorie Welsch

November 28, 2008

My sympathy to all of the family. I remember him from the 1960s while going to Audubon meetings with my dad Art Grebner and family.

Annie Stevenson

November 10, 2008

Bert and I were in the Pops Orchestra together for six years. He always had a smile on his face. He was a very sweet man with a kind heart. He brought spunk and life to our rehearsals. And for a while, he was the only violist we had. While I will miss him greatly, I know Bert is in a better place, and I hope to see him there someday.

Rich and Debbie Adlof

November 9, 2008

Bert always seemed to enjoy life, and his image remains indelibly imprinted in the mind of this old Lab rat, recently retired. Our deepest sympathies.

Hazel and Donald Mackenzie

November 2, 2008

Such a good friend who will be missed by all who knew him. His kindness and generosity will always be remembered.

Marvin Bagby

October 31, 2008

Sorry to learn of your loss. Jean and I send our sincere sympathy. I have many memories of my working with Bert and his enthusiasm for new crops and vegetable oil technologies.

Jon Heller

October 30, 2008

We lived next door to Princen's many years. While we were all growing up, my bedroom faced what would be the greenhouse side of their home. I believe prior to the greenhouse were the dark nights absolutely lit up like a baseball stadium with a Coleman gas lantern and a huge white sheet. He always had that net ready! I never saw any collection but I bet he caught some mighty scary-lookin insects, moths, what have you, as we were completely surrounded by ravines. Good thing he never showed me. What a truly amazing and fulfilling life this man lived. He lived a life of at least a hundred people all at once. Even though every blue moon, a rock might have "somehow" hit the greenhouse, he was a wonderful man as is his family. We will all miss him. The community feels this great loss. Norman, Greet, some of us hope to see you Nov 9th.

Andrea Princen

October 30, 2008

Celebrating a life well lived. We will cherish the memories forever.

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