Charles Donald Powers

Charles Donald Powers was born July 13, 1934 in Jamestown, NY to adoring parents Harold O. and Alice Myrtle VanGiesen Powers. Although having earned a PhD which gave him the right to use the title Doctor, he preferred to be known only as Don.

After graduating from Jamestown High School in 1952 and North Park Jr. College in 1954, Don entered the Air Force where he served four years in communications. He then earned his Bachelors and Masters Degree in Microbiology, Public Health and Virology from Michigan State University. An endowed Chair in Microbiology at Michigan State has been established in Don’s name.

In 1969, Don completed work to earn his PhD in Epidemiologic Science and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan. His primary area of work was with the poliovirus infection and its influence on the DNA in human cells.

Upon finishing graduate school, Don wrote “I was attempting to find a position in which I might merge my formal training in microbiology with my informal training in ornithology.” His life-long interest in birds led him to the arbovirus program at Cornell University where for three years Don was a National Institute of Health postdoctoral research fellow.

His research work took him to Venezuela, Costa Rica and Mexico during which time he lived in the rain forests studying the effects of an encephalitis virus then epidemic in these countries leading to a fear the virus would spread to humans. In part, due to his work and that of others in the group, a vaccine was developed to prevent the spread of this disease.

In 1972, Don accepted a position with the Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Stony Brook where Don once again focused on birds and studied the influence of hydrocarbons and pesticides on their habitat.

Continuing his work as an Environmental Scientist, Don widened his career by joining the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge, TN from 1979-1982. It was here and later in Las Vegas as a Research Staff Member and later as Senior Staff Scientist with SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) that Don interpreted major environmental legislation to assist Federal agencies, particularly the DOE in complying with various statutes.

He was one of three contributors to have guidelines published to facilitate compliance with the Endangered Species Act and was Senior Author and Coordinator of Coastal Zone Management Act guidelines. One of his special emphases was on the effects of nuclear fuel cycle and geothermal technologies on water quality and aquatic biota. He worked on the politically charged Yucca Mountain permanent repository program for high-level nuclear waste located in southern Nevada and always sought to protect his beloved birds and wildlife.

Following his retirement on September 30, 1999, Don volunteered as a Docent at the Red Rock Mountain Nature Preserve and was later honored as the Bronze Winner Volunteer of the Year by the US Department of the Interior. He continued as an avid bird watcher and traveled widely throughout the world making precise notations of each sighting, time and place.

Don passed away peacefully on June 20, 2024 in the loving care of his cousins, Rev. Duane and Lana VanGiesen. Left to mourn are his numerous bird watching and camping friends who enriched his life, his devoted hometown friends, and his VanGiesen cousins and their families. Burial will be next to his parents at Sunset Hill Cemetery in Jamestown, NY under the direction of Ted Dickey West, Dallas, TX and Sunset Hill Cemetery, Jamestown, NY.

Living out his commitment to protection of the earth, Don has made lasting legacy gifts to The Roger Tory Peterson Institute, The Nature Conservancy and Michigan State University Department of Microbiology.

When asked which was his favorite job, he immediately replied, “Working with birds.”