Warren Jacob "Jake" Houck

Warren Jacob "Jake" Houck died on July 24, 2010 at his home in McKinleyville, CA, the end result of congestive heart failure. Jake was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania on January 16, 1924. His love of nature was developed and fostered by his scout master and the local doctor, both outdoorsmen and naturalists. They bought him a chemistry set, showed him where to find arrowheads, and taught him the constellations. He carried this interest in science and the natural world with him to college, where he began as a freshman at Penn State. And then came the war. Like many men of his generation, Jake volunteered for the service during World War II, joining the Navy. After he finished his basic training, he was ordered to pack his duffel. The morning of his deployment, his commanding officer called for him and asked, "Hey Houck. Howdya like to go to college?" A bit dazed, he managed to reply that he would like that very much; he spent the rest of his time in the service at Cornell, earning his BS in civil engineering. He continued at Cornell, earning his PhD in biology in1949. But degrees were not the only thing he picked up in Ithaca. While working on his PhD, he met another graduate student, a California girl named Rhea Leishman. They just marked their 62nd anniversary. He continued his academic career at Humboldt State College in 1952, teaching first in the physical sciences before moving into the biology department. He retired in 1983. Although he studied wildlife conservation for his PhD at Cornell and studied fish as a Stanford post-doc, he came upon his real academic passion when a rare beaked whale washed up on a local beach. After heading to the beach to admire and dissect it, he headed to the library to learn more about it only to find very little. A rotting carcass and a dearth of research lead to a life devoted to the study of marine mammals, especially cetaceans. He shared his passion for the gore and the wonder of science. Students have stories of the whales they dissected, the whale flesh they buried, the whale bones they cleaned. He also set high standards in the classroom, standards that his students have carried with them into professional pursuits. He also offered support and mentorship to his younger colleagues. Many of those students and colleagues became life-long friends. His work allowed him to travel the world looking for marine mammals and birds to study, photograph, and admire. (One year, perhaps because his wife Rhea and youngest daughter were along, he managed to look also for lions, zebra, and antelope.) He visited every continent, setting foot on his last, Antarctica, in 1991. All his life he was a collector, filling his home and his office with the artifacts of work, hobbies, and adventure. Jazz CDs, glass floats, bolo ties, wildlife art, and photos of animals and family all filled the background of his and Rhea's home. His varied and sometimes peculiar collections point to varied interests and a life well lived. He is survived by his wife Rhea, his children, Susan, Robert, Emily and Judy, his grand-son Ross, and his sister Edythe Yerger. No flowers please. Donations may be made in his memory to the Friends of Arcata Marsh. Please sign the online guestbook at www.Times-Standard.com. Click on obits.