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Title: In memoriam/À la mémoire de

Author
item Martin, Robert
item ELLIS, PETER - Phyto Diagnostics Company Limited

Submitted to: Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/25/2017
Publication Date: 3/24/2017
Citation: Martin, R.R., Ellis, P.E. 2017. In memoriam/À la mémoire de. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology. 39(1):1-4. doi:10.1080/07060661.2017.1304028.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07060661.2017.1304028

Interpretive Summary: Memoriam for a distinguished research plant pathologist whose specialties were in crop viruses. Academic and professional highlights are discussed.

Technical Abstract: Richard (Dick) Stace-Smith (1924 - 2017) was born in Creston, British Columbia. He received his B.Sc. degree in Agriculture from University of British Columbia in 1950 and Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 1954. Dick worked at the Agriculture Canada, later renamed Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Vancouver, B.C. until his retirement in 1989. He was a research plant pathologist specializing in viruses of Raspberry and Potatoes, but published on viruses of many other crops as well. He was a member of the research team that developed heat treatment and meristem tip culture as a method to eliminate viruses from plants and the team was awarded the Merit Award, Public Service of Canada for this work. Dick was also elected a Fellow of the American and Canadian Phytopathological Societies, served as president of CPS and of the Pacific Division of APS, he was also an active member of the International Society for Horticultural Sciences and led the establishment of the working group on viruses of tree fruits and berry crops. He did four sabbatical leaves during his career at Ag Canada (Dundee, Scotland; Littlehampton, England; Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture, and the Victoria Plant Research Institute in Burnley, Australia). He was a leader in developing a Plant Virology course at UBC and Simon Fraser University. He was also active in BC Naturalist's Society, Fraser River Coalition, VanDusen Botanical Garden, and Vancouver Natural History Society. Everyone that worked with Dick was impressed with his sense of humour, positive can-do attitude, the real joy he got out of his work and the people he worked with in all his endeavors.