obituaries
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Larry McMullen
04/20/49-07/23/16
A loving father and husband, Larry McMullen passed away from early-onset Alzheimer’s on July 23, 2016. Born on April 20, 1949, Larry was a Santa Barbara native and graduate of Santa Barbara High. His presence will be remembered in the Santa Barbara Harbor where he spent much of his life as a commercial fisherman. As we look upon the oceans and seas of this world, our love for him will forever fill our hearts. He was brave, strong, and loyal, and had a good heart. Larry is survived by his wife, daughter, and three half sisters. He will be deeply missed by everyone he touched in his life. If you choose to do so you can make donations in his memory to the Alzheimer’s Association and/ or Heal the Ocean.
John Robert (J.R., Bob) Haller 09/21/30-08/17/16
John Robert (Bob) Haller, renowned California botanist, inspirational teacher, and mentor to so many, died on August 17, 2016, at home in Goleta, California. He passed peacefully in the presence of his beloved wife, Nancy Vivrette, while holding a pine cone and listening to music. Bob was internationally recognized for his work on pines but may be most remembered for the way he joyfully shared his love of the natural world with the rest of us – inspiring generations of botanists and avid naturalists. Bob was born on September 21, 1930, in Santa Monica, California, to John and Wilhelmina Haller, parents who were enthusiastic about nature, camping, and gardening, and who encouraged independent thought and exploration. Bob and his younger brother, Norman, took trips with their parents all over the Los Angeles area during his early years, camping, driving, exploring new canyons and parks. Music was also an integral part of family life and remained a source of joy and solace to Bob throughout his life. Bob attended UCLA, where he studied with such renowned 16
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biologists as Dr. Mildred Mathias, Dr. Harlan Lewis, and others. During his graduate school years, Bob explored many of the highest Sierran peaks with the UCLA Geographic Society, meeting with the group on an annual basis over a 60-year period. Bob obtained a PhD in 1957 after completing his dissertation on Pinus. Immediately out of graduate school, Bob joined the faculty at the University of California at Santa Barbara as a professor of botany, a position he held until his retirement in 1994. A generation or more of botanists owe their inspiration and careers to Bob (aka J.R.) Haller and his undergraduate course, Plants of California (Botany 103). Across the country and even the world, college professors, regulators, consultants, and field biologists continue to wax glowingly about a one-of-a-kind college course that opened their eyes to both beauty and science. Bob’s pine studies provide documentation of variations of Pinus ponderosa, Pinus jeffreyi, Pinus washoensis, and Pinus torreyana, throughout their geographical ranges. This work took Bob and Nancy all over California over a course of decades, as well as north to Canada, east to North Dakota, and south to Mexico and Guatemala in search of ancestral populations. His work has been lauded as pioneering, providing essential collections and baseline data spanning almost 70 years in a changing world; his collection of over 5,000 specimens from 300 localities is housed in the John Robert Haller Pine Collection at UCSB in the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER). He also collaborated on one of the first vegetation classification systems in California and was instrumental in helping to establish the acclaimed University of California Natural Reserve System that now protects approximately 130,000 acres of land in the state and is used for educational and research purposes. Bob was a gifted photographer with a magnificent aesthetic sense that filled those lucky enough to view his multimedia presentations of the plants of California and other regions with awe and joy. After retiring from UCSB, Bob served as the education botanist at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden along with his wife and botanical colleague, Dr. Nancy Vivrette, teaching classes, leading field trips, and continuing to inspire a new audience with a love of California’s floral splendor. While at the Botanic Garden, he and Dr. Robert Muller published Trees of Santa Barbara. He was honored as a Local Hero by The Santa Barbara Independent in 2001. Bob had a long battle with Parkinson’s disease, amazing his doctors by forestalling the debilitating effects for so long through sheer force of will. Even in this, Bob has proved to be an inspiration to all who knew him. Bob is survived by his brother, Norman Haller, and his wife, Nancy Vivrette, along with many nieces and nephews. A celebration of Bob’s life will be scheduled in the coming weeks at the Santa Barbara Botanic
August 25, 2016
Garden after fire season is over. Contributions in his memory to honor his academic work and research on pines may be made to the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration at UCSB, and contributions to honor his photographic collections, multimedia presentations, and field trip educational activities may be made to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Remembrances will be shared at 1:30pm with a Memorial Mass to follow at St. Patrick’s Church, 4101 Norbeck Rd., Rockville, MD 20853, Saturday, September 24, 2016. Private interment was August 19th. www.collinsfuneralhome.com
William (Bill) Francis Shinn 02/01/34-08/17/16
port of his family and friends. Services will be held Friday, August 26, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Raphael’s Church, 5444 Hollister, Goleta, CA, with a celebration of life immediately following at the Elk’s Lodge, 150 N. Kellogg, Goleta, CA. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the ALS Association, Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 6051, Albert Lea, MN, 56007, or your favorite charity.
Gerald S. Thede 06/30/28-08/07/16
Dr. Gino C. Battistone 1926-2016
Thursday, August 18, 2016, of Silver Spring, MD. Born in Baltimore, MD, he was a graduate of both Gonzaga College High School and Georgetown University, undergraduate, through his doctoral degree in biochemistry. In 1990, he retired as Deputy of Research and Chief, of the U.S. Army Institute of Dental Research, Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Battistone was an army medic and a U.S. Army World War II veteran. He was a professorial lecturer at George Washington University and Georgetown University School of Medicine and Dentistry. He was the author of over 100 papers in the area of dental biochemistry, radionuclear chemistry, chemistry and toxicology of trace metals and wound healing. As a volunteer, he served as an Emeritus Foundation Scientist instructor for District of Columbia Public School students and guide for the Goddard Space Flight Center. At Georgetown University, he proved to be a talented thespian. He chose to serve as theater director and set designer for his parish, Catholic Youth Organization, St. John Baptist De La Salle, Hyattsville, MD. The plays he directed won first place multiple times in the Catholic Archdiocese competitions. He later developed his set design building skills to become a master woodworker. Gino Battistone was a devoted husband of the late Mary Ann De Francisci Battistone for 64 years; father of Marianne and Carol Battistone; and father-in law of Philip W. Norwood and Ronald Klayman.
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Bill Shinn passed away August 17, 2016, at his home in Goleta, CA. Bill was born February 1, 1934, in Des Moines, IA, to Leroy Shinn and Mary Ellen (McCarthy) Shinn. He graduated from Dowling High School and attended Drake University. Bill was a sergeant in the Marine Corps and served during the Korean Conflict. After being discharged, he worked for Union Oil Company and later went to barber school. He then married his one true love, Janis, and they embarked on a life full of adventure. They moved to Goleta, CA, in 1961 where he established Fairview Barbers. He also served as facilities manager for the Fairview Shopping Center for many years. Bill was the 1988 Goleta Man of the Year, and served his community in many ways. He was past president of Goleta Valley Community Center and served on the board for 27 years, and he was a member of Santa Barbara Elks #613 for 47 years, an optimist, a member of the Goleta Valley Historical Society and the Goleta Valley Railroad Museum, and one of the originators of the Goleta Valley Lemon Festival. Bill never met anyone he did not want to help. He and Janis loved to travel and take the back roads, snow and water ski, play tennis, and spend time at the beach. They cherished their time with family and friends at their Lake Nacimiento cabin. Bill spent time building cars and boats and creating his own artwork. Bill is survived by his wife, Janis, his 5 children: Vicky Derscheid (Ken), David Crocker (Lucille), Tom Crocker (Dee Dee), Kathy Morales (Martin), and Patrick Shinn; his 12 grandchildren: Kristen Derscheid, Mark Derscheid, Bryant Crocker, Erick Crocker, Emily Crocker, Melissa Pruden, Dustin Crocker, Maggie Crocker, Matthew Morales, Marcus Morales, Nathan Shinn, and Brandon Shinn; and 13 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by four sisters: Mary Therese Oliver of Katy, TX; Coleen Clark of Des Moines, IA; Maxine Olsen of Marquette, MI; and Patty Jo Hall of Ventura, CA. In 2013 Bill was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). He battled this disease with grace and dignity, and with the love and sup-
Jerry Thede passed away peacefully August 7, 2016, in Santa Barbara from complications of Parkinson’s Disease after a decades-long battle. He was a devoted family man, a truly generous and loyal friend, and a professional of the highest integrity, compassion, and skill. He just wanted to be thought of as a “good man.” Born in the small town of Dinuba, California, to Harry C. Thede and Nell Sewell Thede, Jerry was 3 when the family moved to the nearby metropolis of Madera where Jerry lived through high school. Jerry and his older brother, Bob, (who died in 2007) were the first members of the family to attend college. Both attended Stanford University and Stanford Law School. Jerry was awarded his BA “with distinction” in 1950. Having commenced law school in his senior year, he graduated from Stanford Law School in 1952 and was elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honorary scholastic society that invites the top 10% of each graduating class to membership. Also in this class were future U.S. Supreme Court Justices William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O’Connor. Upon graduation, Jerry accepted a position with the Santa Barbara law firm of Price, Postel and Parma, which traces its history back to 1852. He practiced mainly in the area of estate planning and administration, and retired as the firm’s senior partner in 1998. Jerry is survived by his wife, the former April Ravelle, whom he married in 1966 and with whom he was fortunate to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year. He was the father by a former marriage of two sons — Eric, who was killed while attending the University of Oregon in 1976, and Jeff, who is also an estate planning attorney, practicing in Portland, Oregon. Jeff is married to Jan, and they are the parents of Justine (a third-generation estate planning attorney working with her dad in Portland) and Carsten (who works in advertising in San Francisco).