Birth date: Dec 9, 1917 Death date: Sep 16, 2003
John Arthur Sealander, Jr. age 85, of Rogers, Arkansas died Tuesday, September 16, 2003 at St. Mary's Hospital in Rogers. He was born to John Arthur and Mary Constance Grimsgaard Sealander at Detroit Lakes, Minnesota on December 9 Read Obituary
To the family of John and Lucile:
Our sincere condolences.
To John, Judy, Sarah and all the family,
You have our sympathy and prayers in this time of great loss.
We knew John from our Markham Road neighborhood, the University, the church and Scandinavian Society. He was always kind and gracious, a person of strong beliefs and character. He was always modest about his many accomplishments. His passing leaves a large void and he will be missed by all who knew him.
I felt honored to be Dr. Sealander's 54th of 54 successful M.S. and Ph.D. students. He was always known for his amount of knowledge that he would lecture about. I filled notebooks from his classes. He always expected and usually received the most from his students. What some people didn't know about him in academia was his humorous side. He could be a real "closet cut-up" with a humorous anecdote, a joke, or a funny story. Things would tickle him so much he would just grin and chuckle. It was infectious. He was a straight shooter and I never did hear him engage in idle gossip. My folks appreciated how he was a regular guy as well as an educator.
I really enjoyed going into the field with him. It was a special treat when he did this since often he would spend time (and rightfully so) with his beloved and then ailing wife Lucille. Early on during my studies (1980-87) I took on a summer research technician doing a small mammal survey at Hot Springs National Park. He came and assisted me in netting (and at one point fishing for bats with a cockleburr and a fly rod) bats and catching rodents in Gulpha Gorge. We cooked steaks and drank bears and talked science, world politics (he was self-proclaimed "yellow dog Democrat"), and other important matters. He told me about when Emil Liers visited his school (Luther College I believe) and showed his pet otters.
He would talk about his three children..about John III's hot car, about Sarah's job with the airlines, and Judith in Bowling Green. I was also fond of his Alaska adventure stories and caring for box turtles with Lucile (they lobbied for box turtle conservation as a pair). It made me realize that scientists were also husbands, fathers, family men, colleagues, and humans. Dr. Sealander touched alot of lives in academia and many went on to make good use of their knowledge. The list reads like who's who in medicine, dentistry, biology, wildlife management, academia, zoology in Arkansas and throughout the country. His otter story and guidance inspired me to complete my dissertation on otter ecology and devote my career to studying and teaching about the mysteries of otters and other life, hopefully as John would have liked it.
Thanks John,
Peace be with you, your family, and friends,
Paul
Dr Sealander was my academic advisor 1969-1972. I am now Lead Faculty for Science at NWACC. Dr. Sealander helped make that possible. I am saddened to hear of his passing. My thoughts are with his family.
