J. Stanley Cobb

1942 - 2020

Cobb, J. Stanley
John Stanley Cobb, known as Stan or J. Stanley, was born in 1942 in Boston to Sidney Cobb and Rosiland Wiggins Cobb. He was the oldest of four children, and during WWII while his father served in the army in Europe the family lived with his paternal grandparents, Elizabeth and Stanley Cobb, who had a deep influence on his life. As a child he spent summers with them on the water in Cotuit, Massachusetts, and with his maternal grandparents in Deer Isle, Maine. Being on and near the water, particularly the ocean, was forever a joy to him.
Stan graduated from the Groton School in 1960, and from Harvard University with a BS in biology in 1964. He went on to the University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography and received a PhD in marine biology in 1969, followed by a postdoc at the Smithsonian, studying fish brains. In 1970, Stan returned to URI - back to the undergraduate campus where he stayed for the rest of his career as a professor of marine biology and ecology and two-time chair of the Zoology Department. He loved teaching and his students, whether undergraduate, masters or PhD. Stan was a pioneer in crustacean biology, particularly lobster biology, and he spent his summers with his many students on a series of research vessels on Narragansett Bay. Later, after administration time as department chair, he took consultant assignments for the URI Coastal Resources Center, developing coastal marine institutions and programs in Ecuador, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. He was a leader in the community of lobster researchers, biologists, policy makers, and watermen. Upon his retirement in 2004 he continued to serve in his field, volunteering as a science advisor in the Paul Cuffee School in Providence and with the development of a marine science program on Hurricane Island, Maine.
Stan and his wife moved to a life care community in Mitchellville, MD in September 2014 and he died there on April 24th after a long fight with Parkinson's Disease and a short one with Covid-19. He is survived by his family: his wife of almost 55 years, Laurel Cobb, son Nathan Cobb and daughter-in-law Kyle Cobb and granddaughter Eliza Cobb, daughter Lisa Cobb and son-in-law Grant Gross and grandson Noah Gross, and three siblings, Patsea Cobb, Peter Cobb, and Elijah Cobb. He is also survived by the students, colleagues, and mentees who carry on his legacy, and who are too numerous to name.
A celebration of his life will be held when social distancing allows. In the meantime, people who knew him can share memories and tributes at www.forevermissed.com/jstanley-cobb. Donations in his memory may be given to the Stan Cobb Endowment for Marine Biology at the University of Rhode Island, in Kingston RI. It provides awards to URI students to support experiential education in marine biology at URI, under the supervision of URI faculty. For information go to web.uri.edu/marbio/stan-cobb-field-courses.