Terry Lamon Yates: 1950–2007

Abstract

On 11 December 2007, the science of mammalogy lost one of its most valued and influential leaders. Terry Lamon Yates succumbed to complications of treatments for an aggressive form of brain cancer after a brief but courageous fight. He was born on 17 March 1950, in Mayfield, Kentucky, the oldest son of Ellen Wanda Byrd and William Hanley Yates. Terry's only sibling was a brother, Johnny. He is survived by his wife Nancy Fennell, his 2 sons Brian Christopher and Michael Ryan, and daughter-in-law Laura Mancheno Macia. Over the last 30 years, Terry, usually accompanied by Nancy, his bride of 36 years, attended all but 1 of the annual meetings of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). It was not uncommon to hear comments about how well Nancy and Terry enjoyed each other's company. Their relationship was special. Terry and Nancy 1st met when she was a junior in high school, and he was a freshman at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. Terry convinced Nancy, who lived in Houston, to attend Murray State, and they later married on 7 August 1971, when Terry was a senior and Nancy was a sophomore. Terry raised the money to buy Nancy's engagement ring by returning soft drink bottles collected from dorm trash cans, roadsides, and other places, and by running a trapline before class. Their oldest son, Brian, was born in Lubbock, Texas, on the night Terry passed his oral comprehensive exams for his Ph.D. Michael was born in New Mexico after Terry was a faculty member at the University of New Mexico. Terry's education as a biologist began with his bachelor's degree from Murray State University in 1972. Terry then completed his master's degree in biology from Texas A&M University in 1975, studying North American moles under the guidance of David …