Dear all,

I wanted to report the loss of a great mentor and friend who is also one of 
the founders of our field.  Dr. Paul Parmalee suffered a stroke in the middle 
of April and passed away on July 4.  When I completed my Ph.D. in 2004 I was 
the last graduate student lucky enough to have him as a member of my 
committee.  He was a wonderful man, an inspiration, and a great mentor.  I 
will miss him and his invaluable expertise.  Below is a version of the press 
release put out by the University of Tennessee.

Sadly,
Jodi


>FOR IMMEDIATE USE
>
>July 4, 2006
>
>
>
>Former UT McClung Museum Director Paul Parmalee Dies
>
>
>
>KNOXVILLE -- Paul W. Parmalee, University of Tennessee professor
>emeritus and a pioneer in the scientific field of zooarchaeology,
>died today of complications from a stroke. He was 79.
>
>Parmalee was recruited from the Illinois State Museum to the UT
>faculty in 1973 by famed UT anthropologist Dr. William Bass.
>Parmalee took on the additional role of director of McClung Museum
>from 1977 to 1989, when he retired from the classroom, but not from
>work. Parmalee increased his research and publication schedule,
>co-authoring in 1998 the definitive book The Freshwater Mussels of
>Tennessee, published by UT Press.
>
>Parmalee was writing up his latest fieldwork at his desk in his
>museum office when he suffered the stroke several weeks ago.
>
>"UT was unimaginably fortunate to have attracted Paul Parmalee to
>its faculty. His stature in the field has brought to the university
>outstanding students and world-renown scientists, and to McClung
>Museum a priceless collection of freshwater mussel specimens
>recognized as the best collection in the eastern U.S.," said
>Chancellor Loren Crabtree. "Such a valuable professional and
>beloved individual is impossible to replace, but we are certain that
>the power of his positive presence will continue to inspire
>generations of scientists."
>
>Born in Mansfield, Ohio in 1926, his interest in studying plants and
>animals started in boyhood. He joined the Army in 1944 at age 18,
>serving in the Philippines and Japan. Then his formal education
>began at Ohio University where he earned a bachelor's degree in
>zoology in 1948. Then he earned a master's in ecology from the
>University of Illinois in 1949 and a doctorate degree wildlife
>management from Texas A&M in 1952.
>
>In 1953, he became curator of zoology for the Illinois State Museum
>in Springfield. There he established the critical importance of
>zoological field work at archaeological sites and created
>interdisciplinary connections to explore the interplay of humans and
>nature. He became an expert in identifying even the smallest
>remnants, with special focus on bones, birds and freshwater mussels.
>
>When Parmalee left Illinois for Tennessee in 1973, he was assistant
>museum director and he had built the best specimen and skeleton
>collection in the Midwest, according to his colleagues there.
>
>He is preceded in death by his first wife, Barbara Griswold
>Parmalee, in 1991. Survivors include Parmalee's wife, Geneva Nail
>Wyatt Parmalee; son and daughter-in-law, J. David and Elizabeth
>Parmalee, and granddaughters Katherine and Corinne of Knoxville;
>daughter and son-in-law, Patrice and Michael Fox, grandson Austin
>and granddaughter Kelsey of Fairview, Tenn.; daughter and son-in-law
>Shalee and David Sojka and granddaughter Sophia of Crossville, Tenn.
>
>Preservation of Parmalee's extensive freshwater mussel collection,
>about 65,000 specimens, has been assured, according to Jeff Chapman,
>who is now director of McClung Museum. "The collection will be named
>The Paul W. Parmalee Malacology Collection, and a fund has been
>established for its care and support. Chapman said the collection is
>essential to the work of students, faculty and scientists from the
>Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Tennessee Valley Authority
>and numerous businesses.
>
>Contributions should be made to the McClung Museum, 1327 Circle Park
>Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996-3200 and designated for the Parmalee Fund.
>
>Parmalee will be interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Camp Point, Ill.
>
>
>Additional Remembrances from Colleagues
>
>
>
>
>
>Countless colleagues and friends also assure preservation of Paul
>Parmalee's memory. His story begins and ends with people and work
>that he loved.
>
>Dr. Bonnie Styles, director of the Illinois State Museum (ISM) said
>that he inspired her as a graduate student to pursue zooarchaeology
>as a specialty.
>
>"I had the good fortune to study faunal remains from two
>archaeological sites that he had studied earlier. His
>identifications and interpretations have withstood the test of
>time," she said, "I loved his sense of humor and the twinkle in his
>eye. He was so vibrant. You just knew when he was about to tell a joke."
>
>Another long-time friend and colleague, emeritus ISM director Dr.
>Bruce McMillan, said Parmalee's career was characterized by
>creativity and precision.
>
>"He had an eclectic, holistic approach yet advocated careful and
>accurate identifications and the need for comprehensive comparative
>collections to help researchers in all the natural sciences, McMillan said.
>
>"I first met Parmalee in 1961 when he was working on Tick Creek
>Cave, an important faunal site in central Missouri. He was an
>outstanding scientist with an indefatigable spirit, constantly
>working and pushing forward," McMillan said.
>
>Orvetta Robinson, retired librarian for the Illinois State Museum
>met Parmalee when he joined the ISM staff in 1953.
>
>"Paul's friendship and support during our years of association at
>the Illinois State Museum contributed more than he knew to my self
>confidence and growth in my position. He was always there for me
>with advice or assistance, should I ask, and with unwavering
>friendship in recent years as well," she said.
>
>His associations at the University of Tennessee proved to be just as solid.
>
>Dave Etnier, UT emeritus professor of zoology, and Parmalee bonded
>quickly. Etnier came in 1967, Parmalee six years later.
>
>"We were both Midwestern. Both naturalists, both duck hunters, both
>a little bit unconventional. I'm from Minnesota, and Paul spent much
>of his time in the Midwest. We hit it off right away. He's the best
>hire we've ever made. He's done so much for our university. He was
>prouder of his students and what they've done than of his own
>extensive publications record. He has sent out zoologists to the
>rest of the world, my son Michael being one of them."
>
>Art Bogan, coauthor with Parmalee of the Tennessee mussels book, was
>Parmalee's first doctoral student at Tennessee, graduating in 1980.
>He spent 12 years at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia
>before becoming research curator of invertebrates at North Carolina
>Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.
>
>Bogan says while working at UT he and Parmalee prepared skeletons
>ranging in size from a little darter to a full grown ostrich.
>
>"Dr. Parmalee had a feel for the bones, recognizing subtle
>differences that are hard to quantify. When Paul was asked why he
>had identified a bone as a duck he would reply 'because it looks like a 
duck.'
>
>"He was happiest collecting clams, or mussels. He bought a used,
>pink, flat bottom boat one time, and named it Sissypoo, even though
>he repainted it green. We had great fun taking it out onto
>Chickamauga Reservoir even on cold, winter days. He had to be
>reminded when it got dark that it was time to stop for the day," Bogan said.
>
>Bogan said Parmalee was the quintessential collector, his academic
>skills extending beyond the realm of zoology to patent medicine
>bottles, Civil War stamps, and even antique meat grinders.
>
>"He instilled in his students the responsibility to publish, to
>share knowledge. Even now, if I'm not writing, I feel like I'm off track."
>
>Gerry Dinkins, another former student and co-owner of Dinkins
>Biological Consulting, accompanied Dr. Parmalee on fieldtrips in
>recent years. In fact, they had another one planned. Dinkins was a
>1980 UT grad in wildlife and fisheries and earned a master's in
>ecology in 1984.
>
>"The day before his stroke I was in his office with some stuff to
>puzzle over. We were looking forward to a survey in the Elk River of
>W. Va. We'd done a survey in the New River last year. When I visited
>Paul at the hospital during the last weeks of his life, we sat and
>listened to opera," Dinkins said.
>
>"Dr. Parmalee was so generous with his time and expertise. Bring him
>any kind of shell, most common or most rare, anything from pristine
>to an old relic, and he would always treat it as a real find.
>
>"When my professional relationship began with Paul I had just moved
>back to Tennessee and became very busy conducting surveys for
>endangered aquatic species. We began collaborating, and I never
>ceased to be amazed at the depth of his knowledge. He was truly one
>of the giants in this field. UT was so, so lucky to have him," Dinkins said.
>
>Another zoologist keenly influenced by Paul Parmalee's work and
>friendship is Dr. Don Grayson, professor at the University of
>Washington in Seattle.
>
>"When I was in graduate school at Oregon, I looked to the work of
>two people to provide models for what I wanted to do: Paul Parmalee
>and John Guilday, paleontologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural
>History. They often co-authored publications. I read everything they
>had ever written, and still return to their work routinely. I never
>met Guilday, but I was fortunate enough to meet Paul at an
>archaeology society meeting in the early 80s. He and I quickly
>became friends, but that doesn't distinguish me from hundreds of
>others: It was hard, maybe impossible, to know Paul without being his friend.
>
>"Although Paul was important to me professionally as a role model,
>it isn't Paul the zooarchaeologist that I will miss nearly as much
>as Paul the person. In addition to being a consummate scholar, Paul
>was one of the most interesting, most enjoyable people I have ever
>met. I was lucky not to have been a clam within his collecting
>radius, though if I had been, I would have ended up well-labeled and
>perfectly curated. My most fervent wish for Paul is that when he
>arrives where he is going, there will be birds to watch, clams and
>stamps to collect, cigars to smoke, and maybe even some of his other
>favorite activities as special dispensation for a life well and
>importantly loved," Grayson said.
>
>Soon after he arrived in Tennessee in 1973, Parmalee persuaded ISM
>archaeologist Dr. Walter Klippel to join him at UT. The scientific
>community has greatly benefited from the partnership. Klippel, a UT
>anthropology professor, and Parmalee have co-authored many
>publications over the years.
>
>Perhaps more importantly, said Klippel, "Paul was able to convince
>me of the importance of systematic collections in zooarchaeology,
>and after he assumed directorship of McClung Museum we collaborated
>on a successful National Science Foundation proposal to further
>increase the usefulness of UT's vertebrate skeletal collection in 
anthropology.
>
>"Paul's practical approach to scholarship was to integrate
>publication activities with a constant effort to improve comparative
>collections. He has left the university with one of the best
>research/teaching collections in North America. We will, however,
>sorely miss his sage advice when it comes time to identify those
>difficult to identify specimens that he was so willing to assess for
>colleagues, students, and the general public," Klippel said.
>
>Dr. James Purdue, another long-time associate from Illinois, said,
>"I had the good fortune to follow Paul Parmalee as a curator of
>zoology at Illinois State Museum. Paul was a good friend and
>colleague and was a pleasure to work with. He had a quick intellect
>and an even better sense of humor. The academic institutions he
>served, namely the Illinois State Museum and the University of
>Tennessee, are better places because of Paul's contributions. Many
>of us have lost a good friend, but Paul's legacy will live for
>decades to come."
>
>Purdue was an editor, with Klippel and Styles, of a 1991 book, or
>festschrift, containing 31 scientific papers Parmalee's friends and
>colleagues published as tribute to his career. They surprised him
>with their plan at the Sixth International Conference of the
>International Council for Archaeozoology held in 1990 at the
>Smithsonian Institution.
>
>Dr. Parmalee's response to the honor sums up his extraordinary life,
>says Art Bogan. "I thought I was just having fun," Parmalee said.
>

Jodi A. Jacobson, Ph.D.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
250 South Stadium Hall
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
Phone: (865)974-4408
Email: [log in to unmask]