Obituary
for George N. Huppert
Dr. George N.
Huppert, of La Crosse Wisconsin, died October 14, 2001 in a head-on car crash
in the Roosevelt Lakes area near Globe, Arizona. He was on his way to a professional meeting, the National Cave
and Karst Management Symposium in Tucson.
George was 56 years of age.
George was married to
Betty J. Wheeler, formerly of Franktown, Colorado in 1979. He had previously had two sons, Kendon G.
Huppert (deceased) and Steven C. Huppert (now of Brooklyn, New York) with Lorraine
Lester (now of Albuquerque, New Mexico). George is survived by Betty; by Betty’s
parents, Eugene and Elsie Wheeler (of Franktown, Colorado); and by Betty’s two
sisters and brothers-in-law, Pat and Bill Fuerstenberger (of Windsor, Colorado)
and Kathy and Ken Ashwood of Gunnison, Colorado.
He is also survived by 3 nephews and 2 nieces, and Susanna Lester
(sister of Kendon and Steve, of Albuquerque, New Mexico). He was preceded in death by his parents,
Sergeant Major Frederick W. Huppert II (of the U. S. Marine Corps), and Sheilah
N. Huppert; and by his only brother, Captain Frederick W. Huppert III (of the
U.S. Air Force).
The funeral was held
at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Castle Rock, Colorado on
Saturday, October 20, 2001. The Pike’s
Peak Grange of Franktown, Colorado prepared a luncheon after the service. Interment is at the Franktown Cemetery. There will be a memorial service in George’s
honor on Saturday, October 27, 2001 at 11 a.m. at the Cleary Center on the
University of Wisconsin—La Crosse campus, where George taught geography and
earth science for over 22 years.
In lieu of flowers,
the family requests that contributions in George’s name be sent to:
1)
The American Cave
Conservation Association, P.O. Box 409, Horse Cave, Kentucky, 42749; or
2)
“The George Huppert
Memorial Scholarship Fund,” in care of the University of Wisconsin—La Crosse
Foundation; contact Dr. Dean Wilder, Department of Geography and Earth Science,
University of Wisconsin—La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, 54601, (608) 785-8333; or
3)
Second Chance Animal
Rescue; contact Nancy Minion, P.O. Box 10533, White Bear Lake, Minnesota,
55110, (612) 625-5662; or your local animal rescue.
George’s Professional Life
George was well known
by his friends and colleagues as having wide-ranging interests in the sciences,
particularly geography and geology. He
was a lifelong learner, as evidenced by the six university degrees he
completed, including Bachelor’s degrees in both, Geography (University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Geology (Winona State University at Winona,
Minnesota); Master’s degrees in Geography and Education (both at the University
of Idaho at Moscow, Idaho); a Master’s degree in Statistics and a Doctor of
Arts degree (both at the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley,
Colorado). He read two or more
newspapers daily, and several hundred books, professional journals, and
magazines per year. George was devoted to the study of the earth and nature,
with an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
Another trait was his outgoing and friendly demeanor; George was truly
interested in people, and he demonstrated this in his daily interactions with
whomever he met. He also loved animals
and the beauty of nature; and he promoted the protection of animals and their
habitats, as well as all natural resources.
George was born in
Brooklyn, New York and traveled many parts of the world from a very young age,
as his father was in the U. S. Marine Corps and was stationed many places
during George’s formative years, including Marine bases in Yokosuka, Japan;
Rota, Spain; and many Marine bases around the U.S. While his father was stationed in Spain, George and his brother
Frederick spent an entire summer traveling around the Mediterranean Sea, seeing
much of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. He was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts, and went on his first
trip to a cave (“Cueva de la Pileta” which means “Cave of the Sink”) near
Ronda, Spain (in 1959 or 1960). George
developed a passion for exploring caves, which then became his lifelong
interest and area of professional research.
George’s cave studies led him around the world to many unique
locations. He made his 905th
recorded trip into a cave on September 28, 2001 (having recorded his trips only
since 1964).
George participated
in early hydrological studies at Mammoth Cave National Park in 1975, under the
tutelage of the renowned cave geologist, Jim Quinlan. Over the next three decades, George distinguished himself as one
of the leading cave management experts in the United States. His intense passion for caves quickly
enticed Betty to join him on cave trips, after they met on a field trip to the
Grand Canyon in 1976. She rapidly also
became interested in caves and karst groundwater problems. Together, they worked on karst and cave
research projects and wrote many professional articles. Their personal lives were much enriched by
their intertwined professional interests.
George combined the
scientific study of caves and his love of traveling with a professional career
in geology and geography. In addition,
he had natural talents in teaching, so he prepared himself for teaching at the
college/university level. After filling
several temporary teaching and research positions in Idaho, Colorado, and
Tennessee, he joined the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse (UW-L) in
1979. There he became Professor of
Geography and Earth Science, a position he retained the rest of his life. He was voted Chair of the Department of
Geography and Earth Science twice, and worked tirelessly to promote geographic
education at UW-L. He worked with many
colleagues across the university on various committees over his 22+ years
there.
George believed
personal experience to be a powerful educational tool, so he organized and led
field trips for students to caves and karst areas (particularly in Wisconsin
and Minnesota), and to visit many other areas throughout the U.S., as well as
several places in Canada, Mexico, and Russia.
He served UW-L and the La Crosse community by leading many trips to
local caves for Scout troops and students of all ages. His trips always incorporated a message of
the need to protect caves for their intrinsic values as well as the need to
protect the groundwater in every karst area, which is a fragile resource that is
frequently used for drinking water.
George’s caving
included trips to hundreds of caves in many parts of the U.S.; and to caves in
Canada, Jamaica, San Salvador Island (Bahamas), Cuba, England, France,
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, and
Brazil. He was particularly delighted
to visit the “Kras” area of Slovenia, which is the area first to be
scientifically described (“type-section”) well over 100 years ago where
solutional caves are found, and where groundwater resources are fragile. (This work defined what is now known as a
“karst” area.) George was also honored
to visit the famous Lascaux Cave in France. This famous cave, with Paleolithic drawings
and paintings of animals, is one of 16 sites named together as the “Decorated
Grottoes of the Vezere Valley” and is designated a United Nations Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. The
drawings and paintings in the cave are exceedingly fragile, and therefore
visitation is extremely restricted.
George published
numerous academic papers and articles for scientific and caving
publications. He was one of the early
proponents of the Underground Wilderness concept, and dedicated extensive
articles to public education about caves and cave management. He volunteered many thousands of hours to
the American Cave Conservation Association (ACCA) and the National
Speleological Society (NSS). He was one
of the first Directors of the ACCA, and served on the ACCA Board of Directors
since 1982. He was the ACCA Vice
President for Conservation over the past decade. George also served in various
capacities in the NSS, such as director of the NSS Cave Management Section;
Chairman of the NSS Cave Conservation and Management Section; Social Science/Exploration
Editor of GEO2 (a geology/geography publication of the NSS); and
Business Manager of the Journal of Caves and Karst Studies (formerly, NSS
Bulletin). George was honored as a
“Fellow” of the National Speleological Society and as a member of the renowned
Explorer’s Club.
George will
particularly be remembered by his devoted wife and many relatives, professional
colleagues, students, and by nearly everyone he met, for his energy, his
enthusiasm for life, and his love of learning.
A simple example is that he always requested a window seat on every air
flight, and carefully studied the landscape, to identify rivers, mountains,
cities, and other features. He loved to
share his knowledge with whomever sat next to him. He also captured much of his travels on film, and shared the
story of each trip with family and friends.
While his loss to the cave conservation community will be deeply felt,
so too will he be missed by all of us who knew and loved him well.
--Betty Wheeler