Stuart H. Gage

Stuart Hargraft Gage, 77, died June 19, 2019 at Hospice House in Cheboygan, Michigan.  

He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Gordon and Cynthia Gage.    
His childhood in the Canadian prairies and summers spent at Lake of the Woods,
Ontario, Canada instilled a passion for nature that continued throughout his life.

At North Dakota State University, Dr. Dean Haynes recognized his exceptionalism and honed his scientific aptitude to enable him to become a member of the Green River Research Project in New Brunswick, Canada where he investigated the impact of bird species on populations of Spruce Budworms.

The publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring made a profound impression on Stuart, who, throughout his career, sought to balance pest management with the ecological integrity of the environment.  Dr. Haynes enticed Stuart to Michigan State University for graduate work where he employed this philosophy in the successful biological control of the cereal leaf beetle.  After receiving his PhD, he spent three years in Saskatoon with Agriculture Canada studying population dynamics of grasshoppers.  He was lured back to MSU to the faculty of Entomology.  There he thrived authoring dozens of scientific papers and coauthoring the books Flow of Life in the Atmosphere and Ecoacoustics: The Ecological Role of Sound. He mentored students and fellow colleagues who are now also innovators in their fields throughout the country and around the world.  While at MSU he taught the honors class Earth System Science and taught and did research in Australia, New Zealand, India, China and Africa.  He received the Distinguished Faculty Award and was the director of the Remote Environmental Laboratory (REAL) where he and his colleagues conduct research on soundscape ecology to determine biodiversity and health of the environment.  His digital acoustic library houses more than 2 million recordings from over 20 soundscape projects.
 

Stuart was revered as kind hearted, generous and devoted to his many grad students and colleagues.  He was a loving husband, loyal friend and doting father and grandfather. Stuart is survived by his wife, Patricia, who shared his love of nature and his siblings, Ross (Maureen), Heather (Ches), Doug (Linda), and his daughter, Jennifer (Michael) and their children: Adeo, Sage, Athan, Ellis and three year old Felix who also loves bugs and declares he will be an Entomologist like Grandpa.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 29th at the Grant Township Hall, 11:30 - 3:00 PM.

Online condolences may be made at www.stonefuneralhomeinc.com.

The Nordman-Christian Funeral Home of Cheboygan is caring for the family.

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