Richard Ralph Whitney

Dr. Richard R. Whitney passed away March 17, 2021, at the age of 93. He was born in 1927 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to May and Joshua Ralph Whitney. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Mary Lou, his sister Joyce, his brother Jack, his daughter-in-law Susan, his granddaughter Anna and his grandson Jeff.

Richard (Dick) joined the Navy in 1945 on his 18th birthday and was proud to serve as a crewman on a troop transport ship that sailed to Shanghai. Following his Navy service, he resumed his education, receiving a BA and a MS in Zoology from the University of Utah. This is also where he met the love of his life, Mary Lou, who happened to be in a college class with him. They were married in 1950. Dick pursued a career in fisheries after achieving his PhD from Iowa State.

Dick amassed a wide range of experience in fisheries management and research, working for U.C.L.A. on the Salton Sea Project, Chesapeake Biological Laboratories studying fish passage in the Susquehanna River, the Bureau of Commercial fisheries studying tuna behavior at Scripps Institute in La Jolla, Unit Leader at the Washington Cooperative Fishery Research Unit and then Professor at the University.of Washington. A former student named a shark species after him, the Mustelus whitneyi.

Along with raising his family, the achievements for which he was most proud were serving as Fisheries Technical Advisor to the Hon. George H. Boldt and as Chairman of the Fisheries Advisory Board for the United States District Court during the implementation of the treaty rights fishing case of the United States vs. the State of Washington from 1975-1979. This was a contentious case. He was often asked whose side he was on, to which his reply was always, "the fish".

In 1979 Dick co-authored a book, Inland Fishes of Washington with Richard Wydoski. It was reprinted in 2003 and has become a valuable resource with descriptions and photographs of all known native and introduced fishes found in freshwater habitats of Washington State.

In 1984 Dick retired from the WA Cooperative Fishery Unit at the University of Washington. He then served on a number of advisory committees of state and federal fisheries agencies in the Pacific Northwest. He also served in a consulting capacity for the Northwest Planning Council and for the National Marine Fisheries Service on fisheries issues in the Columbia Basin.

He and Mary Lou, with the help of family and friends, built a log home on 45 acres near

Leavenworth, WA. They spent many happy years there, enjoying the beauty of their surroundings, their neighbors and being active in the Plain Community Church.

As well as fish, fishing and his family, Dick also loved playing the piano, baseball, trains, hiking and backpacking. Summer family backpacks were a special part of his life and he continued the tradition into his 70's.

Dick is survived by his children, 7 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. A memorial to celebrate the life of Dick Whitney and to share memories and stories will be held at a future time.