Dr. Abraham Piehl
Dr. Martin Abraham Piehl, 77, of Rt. 2, Burlington, WV, died on Friday, March 12, 2010 at Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA.
Originally from rural Medford, WI, Dr. Piehl was born on July 23, 1932 to the late Emil Frederick and Ada (Harris) Piehl. He also was preceded in death by a sister, Ruth Wedlund.
Dr. Piehl was the first member of his family to attend college and graduated with a BS degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, an MS degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He taught undergraduate and graduate courses in botany, dendrology, plant nomenclature, ecology/environmental science and several other related subjects at the University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and LSU. Martin conducted active research studies of the Santalaceae, Scrophulariceae, Orobanchaceae and other related plant families leading to the naming of several new species and numerous peer reviewed journal articles. His plant collections number in the thousands and can be found in several important university herbaria across the United States. He was an expert plant taxonomist and helped numerous professional and lay persons to correctly identify "unknown" or misidentified plants and the unusual species they (and he) found intriguing. Martin was an award winning photographer having a 35 mm slide and digital color image collection numbering in the thousands as well, which included animals and highly magnified photographs of flowers, vegetative plant parts and morphological/anatomical research study slides.
Dr. Piehl was currently working to research the genealogical record of his family dating back to Pilgrim colonization in Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin which included several Civil War veterans in the cavalry associated with President Lincoln using old family photographs and letters. Martin spent many hours researching records on the Internet of topics brought to him by friends, sharing his findings with them. He enjoyed writing short stories about the "life and times" of ancestral family members, rare and endangered plant species, rare chicken breeds and other topics.
Surviving are his wife of 47 years, Paula A. (Nessle) Piehl; one son, Forrest Piehl and wife Anne; five grandchildren, Heather, Joshua, Moriah, Devan and Aimee; two brothers, Ed Piehl and Fred Piehl and wife Audrey and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
At Dr. Piehl's request, there will be no public visitation. A memorial service will be held at a later date with times and locations to be announced. Interment will be on the family farm, Burlington, WV.
The family requests that memorial contributions in Dr. Piehl's name be directed to organizations whose purpose is to study and preserve living creatures and earth's natural environment. One of Dr. Piehl's favorite sayings was "Save the planet-plant a tree."
The Smith Funeral Home, Burlington Chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.
Condolences and personal reflections to the family may be left after Dr. Piehl's obituary at www.smithfuneralhomes.net.
|
|
|
Dr. Abraham Piehl
Dr. Martin Abraham Piehl, 77, of Rt. 2, Burlington, WV, died on Friday, March 12, 2010 at Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA.
Originally from rural Medford, WI, Dr. Piehl was born on July 23, 1932 to the late Emil Frederick and Ada (Harris) Piehl. He also was preceded in death by a sister, Ruth Wedlund.
Dr. Piehl was the first member of his family to attend college and graduated with a BS degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, an MS degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He taught undergraduate and graduate courses in botany, dendrology, plant nomenclature, ecology/environmental science and several other related subjects at the University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and LSU. Martin conducted active research studies of the Santalaceae, Scrophulariceae, Orobanchaceae and other related plant families leading to the naming of several new species and numerous peer reviewed journal articles. His plant collections number in the thousands and can be found in several important university herbaria across the United States. He was an expert plant taxonomist and helped numerous professional and lay persons to correctly identify "unknown" or misidentified plants and the unusual species they (and he) found intriguing. Martin was an award winning photographer having a 35 mm slide and digital color image collection numbering in the thousands as well, which included animals and highly magnified photographs of flowers, vegetative plant parts and morphological/anatomical research study slides.
Dr. Piehl was currently working to research the genealogical record of his family dating back to Pilgrim colonization in Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin which included several Civil War veterans in the cavalry associated with President Lincoln using old family photographs and letters. Martin spent many hours researching records on the Internet of topics brought to him by friends, sharing his findings with them. He enjoyed writing short stories about the "life and times" of ancestral family members, rare and endangered plant species, rare chicken breeds and other topics.
Surviving are his wife of 47 years, Paula A. (Nessle) Piehl; one son, Forrest Piehl and wife Anne; five grandchildren, Heather, Joshua, Moriah, Devan and Aimee; two brothers, Ed Piehl and Fred Piehl and wife Audrey and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
At Dr. Piehl's request, there will be no public visitation. A memorial service will be held at a later date with times and locations to be announced. Interment will be on the family farm, Burlington, WV.
The family requests that memorial contributions in Dr. Piehl's name be directed to organizations whose purpose is to study and preserve living creatures and earth's natural environment. One of Dr. Piehl's favorite sayings was "Save the planet-plant a tree."
The Smith Funeral Home, Burlington Chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.
Condolences and personal reflections to the family may be left after Dr. Piehl's obituary at www.smithfuneralhomes.net.
