Seth Hootman

Seth Richard Hootman Age 63, died September 21, 2012, after a long illness. He was born February 11, 1949 in Sedro-Woolley, Washington to Warren and Betty Jo (Packard) Hootman. He was raised in Coos Bay, Oregon, and received his BS (1971) and MS (1974) in zoology from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, and his PhD in cell biology from Rice University in Houston, Texas (1978). Between 1978 and 1987, he carried out post-doctoral research at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and the University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco. In 1987, Seth Hootman joined the faculty in the Department of Physiology at Michigan State University where he became Professor in 1996. His productive research career concerned fluid and protein transport in secretory epithelia, including the pancreas, and he taught gastrointestinal physiology as well as the undergraduate capstone laboratory in physiology. Professor Hootman was deeply committed to his students; he was a patient and dedicated instructor who helped his students further their careers. In August 2011 he became Professor Emeritus. Professor Hootman was married to Lynn K. Richardson from 1985 to 2005. He loved the outdoors, and traveled and backpacked with Lynn in Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, the American West, as well as Europe, Africa, and New Zealand. He became a scholar of the American fur trade and the westward expansion, learned to shoot muzzle loading rifles, and became a Life Member of the Lansing Muzzle Loading Gun Club. He enjoyed competitive shooting, hunting, and fishing, and was a member of the Lansing Chapter of Safari Club International. He was a skilled artist and photographer, and enjoyed making lampwork beads. He also loved dogs, and his three Airedale terriers provided him with much joy for more than 15 years. Professor Hootman is survived by sisters Susan (Robert) Lien and Florence Seelig, half-sister Julia (Scott) Owens, stepbrother Robert (Claudia) Seelig, and their families. A memorial gathering will be held at 4:00 PM on Sunday, December 2, 2012 at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 E. Grand River Ave., E.Lansing, MI 48823. Contributions in his name may be made to Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, 5705 Grant Creek, Missoula MT 59808 or to Trout Unlimited at Memorial/Honorary Gifts, 1300 N. 17th Street, Suite 500, Arlington VA 22209-3801. Please visit www.muehligannarbor.com to sign the online guestbook and leave the family your condolences.