John Mackiewicz (1930–2020)

John S. Mackiewicz, Professor Emeritus of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, passed away on 25 October 2020 at the age of 90. He was born on 12 July 1930 in Waterburg, Connecticut. For six years as a young boy, John suffered from osteomyelitis, but luckily survived this life-threating disease in an era when effective antibiotics and treatment were not yet available. This long period of illness had a debilitating effect on John's hips and seriously limited his mobility. Nevertheless, these early setbacks only strengthened his resolve. He went on to graduate from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1953 and completed two more degrees, M.Sc. (1954) and Ph.D. (1960) at Cornell. In August of 1957, John married Shirley Williams Miller and they had a daughter, Janina, who became a wildlife photographer. John's family grew considerably, and he was very proud of having as...