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H. Rinker Obituary
H. Bruce Rinker III, Ph.D.
May 17, 1955 - January 7, 2024
H. Bruce Rinker III, Ph.D., scientist, educator, conservationist, and explorer, passed to the Beyond on Sunday, January 7, 2024, in Staunton, after a protracted (7+ years) bout with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain cancer. He was surrounded by close family and friends.
Bruce was born on May 17, 1955, in Winchester, VA, where he graduated from James Woods High School. He received a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife Resources, with a minor in Biology, from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg VA in 1979. Bruce completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Studies, with a focus on Forest Ecology with Antioch University New England in 2004.
Throughout his career, Bruce held positions as Science Department Chair at Millbrook School in Millbrook, NY. Director of Research and Conservation at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota. FL Director of Pinellas County Environmental Lands Division in Tarpon Springs, FL, Science Department Chair at North Cross School in Roanoke, VA, Director of Scientific Advancement and Development at the Biodiversity Research Institute in Portland, ME, and as Executive Director of Valley Conservation Council in Staunton, VA.
As a forest canopy ecologist, Bruce conducted scientific investigations in tree canopies and rain forests throughout the world, and helped build canopy walkways to facilitate further research. Dr. Rinker was part of a team of scientists in Cameroon that identified and documented two unknown species of spider and ant. As an explorer, researcher and educator, Bruce also led numerous expeditions into some of the world's great tropical rainforests and to the Galapagos Islands.
Dr. Rinker authored or edited over 140 scientific and popular articles and books, including his last book: A Pearl in the Brain - The Cancer Journey of a Scientist in his Search for the Seat of the Soul (Koehler Books, 2019). Dr. Rinker was a National Fellow of The Explorers Club, a National Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Switzer Environmental Foundation. He was a member of the Ecological Society and of the National Association of Environmental Professionals, and was certified as a Senior Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America.
Perhaps Bruce's greatest legacy was his buoyant spirit, zest for living, and spark of passion for "all things natural, wild, and free." These will remain an inspiration to all who knew him.
Harry Bruce Rinker III was preceded in death by his parents, Harry Bruce, Jr. and Ruth Delores Bayliss Rinker of Winchester. He is survived by his sisters, Diane Jean Rinker Ritenour and her husband, Jeff, of Capon Bridge, WV, and Donna Lee Rinker Gleaton and her husband, Gary, of Winchester, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins, including Sherry Artz, Pam & Jeff Webber, and Debbie, Tim, and Hunter Sandy.
Bruce's colleagues, friends, and family are invited to gather for a Celebration of His Life on Saturday, February 3, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Henry Funeral Home Chapel, 1030 W. Beverley Street, Staunton, VA 24401 (across from Staunton's historic Thornrose Cemetery).
A Celebration Mass of Transformation will be offered at the First Presbyterian Church's Boyd Chapel, on Winchester's downtown Mall, at 116 S. Loudoun Street, Winchester, VA, on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 1 p.m. Fr. James Orthmann, OCSO, will officiate at the Mass, as well as at Bruce's interment immediately following (at approximately 2 p.m.), in Winchester's historic Mount Hebron Cemetery, at 305 E. Boscawen Street, Winchester, VA.
Gifts may be made in memory of Dr. H. Bruce Rinker III to The Abbey of the Holy Cross (901 Cool Spring Lane, Berryville, VA 22611); The Handley Regional Library (P.O. Box 58, Winchester, VA 22604); and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (901 Amherst Street, Winchester, VA 22601).
Gifts may also match Bruce's own bequest to the Brain Tumor Research Lab of Dr. Benjamin W. Purow, at the University of Virginia's Emily Couric Cancer Center, (1240 Lee Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903).
See Bruce's full obituary on his Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/hbrucerinker
Arrangements are being handled by Henry Funeral Home in Staunton.
Condolences may be made to the family online at www.henryfuneralhome.net, where a full version of this obituary may also be viewed.
May 17, 1955 - January 7, 2024
H. Bruce Rinker III, Ph.D., scientist, educator, conservationist, and explorer, passed to the Beyond on Sunday, January 7, 2024, in Staunton, after a protracted (7+ years) bout with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain cancer. He was surrounded by close family and friends.
Bruce was born on May 17, 1955, in Winchester, VA, where he graduated from James Woods High School. He received a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife Resources, with a minor in Biology, from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg VA in 1979. Bruce completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Studies, with a focus on Forest Ecology with Antioch University New England in 2004.
Throughout his career, Bruce held positions as Science Department Chair at Millbrook School in Millbrook, NY. Director of Research and Conservation at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota. FL Director of Pinellas County Environmental Lands Division in Tarpon Springs, FL, Science Department Chair at North Cross School in Roanoke, VA, Director of Scientific Advancement and Development at the Biodiversity Research Institute in Portland, ME, and as Executive Director of Valley Conservation Council in Staunton, VA.
As a forest canopy ecologist, Bruce conducted scientific investigations in tree canopies and rain forests throughout the world, and helped build canopy walkways to facilitate further research. Dr. Rinker was part of a team of scientists in Cameroon that identified and documented two unknown species of spider and ant. As an explorer, researcher and educator, Bruce also led numerous expeditions into some of the world's great tropical rainforests and to the Galapagos Islands.
Dr. Rinker authored or edited over 140 scientific and popular articles and books, including his last book: A Pearl in the Brain - The Cancer Journey of a Scientist in his Search for the Seat of the Soul (Koehler Books, 2019). Dr. Rinker was a National Fellow of The Explorers Club, a National Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences, and a Fellow of the Switzer Environmental Foundation. He was a member of the Ecological Society and of the National Association of Environmental Professionals, and was certified as a Senior Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America.
Perhaps Bruce's greatest legacy was his buoyant spirit, zest for living, and spark of passion for "all things natural, wild, and free." These will remain an inspiration to all who knew him.
Harry Bruce Rinker III was preceded in death by his parents, Harry Bruce, Jr. and Ruth Delores Bayliss Rinker of Winchester. He is survived by his sisters, Diane Jean Rinker Ritenour and her husband, Jeff, of Capon Bridge, WV, and Donna Lee Rinker Gleaton and her husband, Gary, of Winchester, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins, including Sherry Artz, Pam & Jeff Webber, and Debbie, Tim, and Hunter Sandy.
Bruce's colleagues, friends, and family are invited to gather for a Celebration of His Life on Saturday, February 3, 2024, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Henry Funeral Home Chapel, 1030 W. Beverley Street, Staunton, VA 24401 (across from Staunton's historic Thornrose Cemetery).
A Celebration Mass of Transformation will be offered at the First Presbyterian Church's Boyd Chapel, on Winchester's downtown Mall, at 116 S. Loudoun Street, Winchester, VA, on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 1 p.m. Fr. James Orthmann, OCSO, will officiate at the Mass, as well as at Bruce's interment immediately following (at approximately 2 p.m.), in Winchester's historic Mount Hebron Cemetery, at 305 E. Boscawen Street, Winchester, VA.
Gifts may be made in memory of Dr. H. Bruce Rinker III to The Abbey of the Holy Cross (901 Cool Spring Lane, Berryville, VA 22611); The Handley Regional Library (P.O. Box 58, Winchester, VA 22604); and the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (901 Amherst Street, Winchester, VA 22601).
Gifts may also match Bruce's own bequest to the Brain Tumor Research Lab of Dr. Benjamin W. Purow, at the University of Virginia's Emily Couric Cancer Center, (1240 Lee Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903).
See Bruce's full obituary on his Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/hbrucerinker
Arrangements are being handled by Henry Funeral Home in Staunton.
Condolences may be made to the family online at www.henryfuneralhome.net, where a full version of this obituary may also be viewed.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Published by Roanoke Times on Jan. 28, 2024.
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