Roy A. Whitmore, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Forestry at the University of Vermont, died Sunday, April 2, 2017 after several years of failing health.
Roy was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and moved to Rego Park, New York, where he graduated from Bayside High School. He immediately enlisted in the Navy Air Corp and studied aerial photography and photo interpretation, skills he would continue to use throughout his professional life.
After leaving military service in 1948, he enrolled at the University of Vermont, majoring in forestry, which was then a two-year program. He completed his education at the University of Michigan where he earned a B.S. in forestry in 1952 and a Master's in forestry utilization and measurements in 1954. He also completed course work at Southern Illinois University and the USDA graduate school.
His professional career began with the U.S. Forest Service where he worked in the Central States Forest Experiment Station as a research forester and forest economist in Ohio, Illinois, and Washington, DC. In 1958, he left the Forest Service to accept a position as Associate Professor of Forestry at the University of Vermont.
During his 35 years at the University, he taught courses in remote sensing, wood technology, forest products, forest mensuration, and dendrology, among others. Roy enjoyed teaching and mentoring his students and maintained ties with alumni of the School of Natural Resources, and prior Department of Forestry, over many years.
Many forestry alumni will remember Roy’s Wood Technology class and his tricky, yet fun, wood identification exams that might include a wooden clog, a piece of charcoal, or some wood shavings.
Ever committed to teaching excellence, Roy will also be remembered by many in the School community for the innovations he helped to bring into the classroom, including audio-visual equipment, early computers, and GIS technology.
“From aerial photographs taken by the seat of his pants hanging out the cockpit of a surveillance aircraft, from wood samples to sawlogs, leaves and buds to transits and computers, Roy was always on the cutting edge of the forest and natural resource technology that he knew had to be brought into the classroom. Students learned from him; I learned from him,” said Jack Lindsay, now Associate Professor Emeritus of Outdoor Recreation Management and Planning, at the time of Roy’s retirement from UVM in 1993.
Roy served as chair of the Forestry Program from 1975 to 1988. He also served on University committees and in various administrative roles, including University Marshall from 1966 to 1981. A member of the Society of American Foresters since 1951, Roy earned a Golden Membership Award in 2004 and was Secretary-Treasurer for the New England Chapter in 1987. Other professional memberships included the Forest Products Research Society and the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.
In younger years, Roy loved fishing and bird hunting, traversing fields and streams across the state of Vermont with friends. After his retirement, he had time to work in his woodshop turning out furniture for his home and gifts for friends. He continued identifying wood samples for various museums and organizations well into his retirement years.
A remembrance of Roy's life will be held at the All Souls Interfaith Gathering, 291 Bostwick Farm Road, Shelburne, Tuesday, April 11 at 2 p.m. with a reception to follow.