John Julius Biesele

John Julius Biesele of Austin, first a cancer researcher in St. Louis and New York and later Professor/Professor Emeritus of Zoology at the University of Texas at Austin for more than forty years, died peacefully at home July 24, 2009 at the age of 91. John Biesele was known for his sense of humor, his great kindness, and his encyclopedic knowledge of many fields in both science and the humanities. He had an immense love of languages, and entertained friends, family, and colleagues with a constant stream of etymological information, puns, and witticisms. He had a lifelong passion for the natural history of Central Texas, where he lived most of his life. He actively supported Texas conservation projects, ranging from protection of golden-cheeked warbler habitat west of Austin to forest conservation in the historical Big Thicket of East Texas. Born March 24, 1918 in Waco, Texas, John received both his B.A. (1939) and his Ph.D. (1942) from the University of Texas at Austin. He was a Fellow of the International Cancer Research Foundation, University of Texas, from 1942-43; Barnard Skin and Cancer Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri, 1943; Instructor, Zoology, University of Pennsylvania, 1943-44; Research Associate, Carnegie Institute of Washington, New York, 1945-46; Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1946-47; Associate Scientist of the Division of Experimental Chemotherapy, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, 1946-78; and Professor of Biology, Cornell University Medical School, New York, 1950-58. Instrumental in bringing the University of Texas at Austin its very first Siemens electron microscope from Germany, he was Professor of Zoology and Member of the Graduate Faculty, University of Texas at Austin, 1958-78; Professor Emeritus of Zoology, University of Texas, 1978-99; and Professor Emeritus, Section of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Texas School of Biological Sciences, 1999-2009. John Biesele's publications included a book, Mitotic Poisons and the Cancer Problem, and 150 articles in journals and book chapters. He supervised 18 doctoral dissertations and 21 master's theses, and besides his teaching, delivered 180 lectures in the US and abroad. His honors included Sigma Xi lecturer, 1957; Mendel lecturer, 1958 and 1971; and Research Career Awards in 1962, 1967, 1972, and 1977. He was a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences; the Texas Academy of Science; and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was a Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; the American Association for Cancer Research; the American Society for Cell Biology; the American Institute of Biological Sciences; The Nature Conservancy; and the German-Texan Heritage Society. John is survived by a sister, Grace Gregory of Watkins Glen, New York. Married to Marguerite Calfee McAfee for nearly fifty years, he is survived by their daughters Megan Biesele and her husband Steve Barclay of Austin, Janie Hinchliffe and her husband Paul Hinchliffe of Dripping Springs, Texas, and Diana Burnett and her husband Peter Burnett of Hamilton, Virginia. His granddaughters are Abbey Chapin Burnett and Ellie Chapin Burnett of Hamilton, Virginia. Widowed in 1991, he married Esther Aline Eakin and lived with her in Austin for fifteen years until her death. He is survived by stepchildren Tim Eakin, Pat Eakin and his wife Mary Margaret Eakin, of Austin, Kelly Eakin and his wife Marla Maeder of Madison, Wisconsin, and Mike Eakin and his wife Jean Eakin of Billings, Montana; step grandchildren and great grandchildren. John Biesele is also mourned by a group of Austin friends and colleagues with whom he has lunched every Friday for over thirty years. Memorial contributions may be made to The Texas Land Conservancy, P.O. Box 162481, Austin, Texas 78716 A memorial service for friends and family will be held at a later date.