Dr. Steven Philip Christman

1945 - 2020

Dr. Steven Philip Christman

Quincy - Dr. Steven Philip Christman, 74, longtime resident of Lake Talquin, Florida, died suddenly at his home on January 29th, 2020.

A celebration of his life will be held at his home in Gadsden County on February 15th at 2 pm.

Steve leaves to mourn, his loving wife Nora and his fur-baby Cinnamon who was his constant and loyal companion. He is also survived by a brother, Karl (Claudette), Colonial Heights, Virginia, brother Tom, Schenectady, New York and a sister Patty Christman, De Peyster, New York.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Dorothy Critchfield Christman, a sister Kandy and brother Raymond J. Christman Jr.

Dr. Christman was born in Grass Valley, California on May 21st, 1945 but grew up in up-state New York before ultimately landing at Lake Talquin in Gadsden County, where he has lived and loved for more than 30 years.

Steve served a stint in the Army as an Army Ranger, Special Forces and was a member of the elite Green Beret, serving in Viet Nam. Afterwards, he graduated from the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he received both his Bachelor's Degree and Ph. D. in Biology. As was like him, he went straight from a Bachelor's degree to a Ph.D. bypassing a Master's.

Dr. Christman was a biologist's biologist. Biology was his avocation as well as vocation. He was passionate about his work and loved every day of his career, especially if it involved being out in the field. A quote from a friend, ". . .Without question Steve was one of the foremost field biologists and naturalists in Florida - ever. Primarily a herpetologist and ornithologist, Steve was also an authority on Florida botany, especially plants of the Florida scrub. He discovered the extremely rare local endemic scrub mint, Dicerandra christmanii, named in his honor. Steve was one of those guys who seemed too ornery and curmudgeonly to ever die. A Viet Nam veteran (Army Rangers), he was an incisive and seemingly tireless critic of the Trump Regime and the modern Republican Party. Perhaps the horror of it all finally wore him out. -Reed Noss

Steve was a true renaissance man. "He was a man of all-consuming passions; his maxim was that "anything worth doing is worth overdoing," is a quote from an article written about him in a Fish and Wildlife publication. His first interest was herpetology but he rapidly became a recognized expert in Florida's ecosystems. Ornithology and botany became his next obsessions where he also excelled. He became a professional Bass tournament fisherman for a time and, as usual, became highly proficient at his hobby. And his vegetable and native plant gardens were legend.

After a short employment with the US Department of Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), he worked as a private consultant in Florida for the remainder of his career. He continued to be acknowledged as a leading expert on the plants and animals of the imperiled Florida scrub community. He was a lot of people's go-to for all things related to nature, and always a champion in the fight to save the environment. He is irreplaceable and will be forever missed.