Jamie Edward Thomerson (1935–2015)

Abstract

J AMIE EDWARD THOMERSON, Ichthyologist and Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville (SIU-E), passed away quietly on 4 January 2015, in Austin, Texas, after a two-year battle with prostate cancer (Fig. 1). He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Kathleen Thomerson, his sons Austin and Eric Thomerson, his daughter Rachel Miller, a son-in-law Richard Miller, and a grandson Mason Miller. Jamie, or “Jim,” was a Texan and a country boy, and he was proud of both. He was born on 7 May 1935 in Menard, a small town in the Texas Hill Country. He grew up in that part of the world, as did his father and grandfather. Jim was the only child of Eula Lee (Martin) (1902–1998) and Roy Thomerson (1898–1976). Eula was a teacher until her marriage to Roy in 1926. In 1936, shortly after Jim’s birth, they purchased a ranch, the Old Walston Place, south of Menard and operated it as a goat and cattle ranch. In his adult life, Jim often amused students and friends by recounting stories about life on the ranch. One favorite tale described how his mother would regularly take the rifle out into their woods to hunt squirrels, which she then cleaned and fried, made gravy, and served as the family dinner. As a boy, Jim was tasked by his parents to complete a variety of ranch chores, for instance, burning the thorns off cacti so that the goats could more easily feed on the plants, and using a rifle to control ground squirrels and armadillos. The family ranch was also where Jim became fascinated with the natural world. He wandered the ranch and explored nearby streams and became enchanted with the native fish faunas. Young Jim was also an avid reader and was especially enthralled by the exploits of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ characters, Tarzan, John Carter, and Carson Napier. Jim graduated fromMenard High School in 1953 and then enrolled in the University of Texas where he majored in geology, earning a B.S. in 1957. While an undergraduate, Jim met fellow Texas student Kathleen Armstrong and the two married in Austin on 1 June 1957. Kathleen is a musician, having studied in Europe with the renowned composers and organists Jean Langlais in Paris and Flor Peeters in Antwerp. She subsequently distinguished herself professionally and academically as a church and concert organist, organ instructor, book author, and composer of widely played hymns. After military service in the National Guard, Jim taught biology and chemistry classes at Electra High School in Electra, Texas, for the 1958–59 school year. He then entered the graduate program at Texas Tech University in Lubbock where he conducted research in micropaleontology (Forminifera and Ostracoda), obtaining his M.S. in Geology in 1961. Still in his mid-20s, Jim decided to shift from geology to biology and was accepted into the graduate program at Tulane University. Jim’s wife Kathleen remembers their life in New Orleans with special fondness. At Tulane, Jim researched the hybridization, geographical variation, and distribution of the topminnows Fundulus notatus and F. olivaceus under the guidance of the legendary ichthyologist Royal D. Suttkus. Contemporary Suttkus students at Tulane during Jim’s tenure included Clyde Barbour, Glenn Clemmer, Salvador Contreras Balderas, and John Ramsey. Of course, being a Suttkus student involved intensive collection trips in the southeastern United States (Fig. 2). The Tulane Fish Collection houses specimens from 31 collections made by Jim in Fig. 1. Jamie E. Thomerson, 2011. Photo courtesy of Kathleen Thomerson.