1932
H.William
2016
H.William 'Bill' Johansen
June 11, 1932 — November 17, 2016
Biography
HOLDEN - William "Bill" Johansen, Ph.D., 84 of Holden, passed away peacefully at home in the presence of his loving family on Thursday, November 17, 2016 after an illness. He was born in Worcester on June 11, 1932 to a wonderful Norwegian immigrant couple, Edith L. and Fredrik Johansen, and grew up in Worcester, East Haven, CT and San Mateo, CA. Bill attended college in central California and then taught science at San Mateo High School for four years where he was also the assistant track coach. After earning a Master's degree from San Francisco State University, he entered a doctoral program in biology at the University of California, Berkeley. During this time he was part of an expedition researching the effects of the powerful 1964 Alaskan earthquake on intertidal life which showed that some coasts in Prince William Sound had been up thrust more than 30 feet by the quake. Later, he was part of a team that for three years researched marine life at Bodega Head, a site north of San Francisco where plans called for the construction of a nuclear power plant to be cooled by seawater. Bill's primary research dealt with coralline algae, seaweeds that are hard because of the deposition of calcium carbonate. Part of his research involved SCUBA diving in kelp forests near Carmel, CA to determine the growth patterns of certain species. In 1966, he obtained his Ph.D. in biology. In 1957, Bill and Barbara Willis had married and two sons were born in Oakland, California, Eric in 1961 and Brian in 1964. Brian suffered from Marfan's Syndrome, and in 1976 an aneurism in his brain caused his death at the age of 12, a shockingly sad event. He was buried in Holden. Bill is survived by his current wife, Frances, as well as his son, Eric, daughter-in-law, Lois, and grandsons, Clayton and Bennett. He is also survived by his sister, Sonja Johansen and her son, Carl Johansen. Soon after obtaining his doctorate in 1966, Bill and his family spent nine months at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa conducting post-doctoral research on coralline algae in the Indian Ocean. In 1968, Bill took a position at Clark University in Worcester where he was a biology professor until retiring in 1999. During his years at Clark, he continued research on coralline algae, often working with scientists in other countries, for example, Japan, Ireland, England and Australia. He authored and co-authored more than 50 articles on marine-related topics and two books on coralline algae, one of which he wrote in a remote cabin in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. He also taught courses in biology at Clark and annually led students on week-long trips to Bermuda to study marine life. Three times he was an instructor in month-long courses in Clark's study abroad program in Luxembourg. He also taught two summer courses on aquatic life at Boothbay Harbor, Maine. For many years, Bill was an integral member of the Northeast Algal Society (NEAS) and was President for 5 years. In 1982, Bill married Frances L. Pedusey and settled in Holden. After Frances introduced Bill to the State of Vermont in 1987, they bought a home in the little town of Tunbridge where they spent their summers. After retiring from Clark in 1999, for 10 years Bill taught an annual course at Worcester's WISE program for seniors based at Assumption College. He loved to prepare and teach varied courses as The Viking Era, Great Rivers of North American, the Great Italian Immigration, Biodiversity of the Oceans, the Ice Ages, Extinctions of Life, and Human Evolution. After Fran acquainted Bill with Vermont, he became enthused with the little town of Bethel, VT, a town where her father had spent his youth and where her Italian grandparents had lived. After spending several years collecting data on the influx of many Italian immigrants into Bethel in the early 1900's, he wrote a book on Bethel's so-called Italian era which extended from 1900-1940. The book was published just before he started weakening from cancer in September of 2016. His family would like to thank the nurses and staff of the Notre Dame Hospice for their dedicated and tireless care of Bill. They would also like to thank the numerous family and friends who have been so supportive. A memorial service honoring Bill’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26, in Immanuel Lutheran Church, Holden. Memorial donations may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church, 346 Shrewsbury St., Holden, MA 01520; or to the Heifer Project, 216 Wachusett St., Rutland, MA 01543. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden. To share a memory or leave an online condolence, please visit our "Guest Book" here on our page.
Memorial Service
Saturday
November 26, 2016
,
11:00 AM
at
Immanuel Lutheran Church
Click for Map and Directions
HOLDEN - William "Bill" Johansen, Ph.D., 84 of Holden, passed away peacefully at home in the presence of his loving family on Thursday, November 17, 2016 after an illness. He was born in Worcester on June 11, 1932 to a wonderful Norwegian immigrant couple, Edith L. and Fredrik Johansen, and grew up in Worcester, East Haven, CT and San Mateo, CA. Bill attended college in central California and then taught science at San Mateo High School for four years where he was also the assistant track coach. After earning a Master's degree from San Francisco State University, he entered a doctoral program in biology at the University of California, Berkeley. During this time he was part of an expedition researching the effects of the powerful 1964 Alaskan earthquake on intertidal life which showed that some coasts in Prince William Sound had been up thrust more than 30 feet by the quake. Later, he was part of a team that for three years researched marine life at Bodega Head, a site north of San Francisco where plans called for the construction of a nuclear power plant to be cooled by seawater. Bill's primary research dealt with coralline algae, seaweeds that are hard because of the deposition of calcium carbonate. Part of his research involved SCUBA diving in kelp forests near Carmel, CA to determine the growth patterns of certain species. In 1966, he obtained his Ph.D. in biology. In 1957, Bill and Barbara Willis had married and two sons were born in Oakland, California, Eric in 1961 and Brian in 1964. Brian suffered from Marfan's Syndrome, and in 1976 an aneurism in his brain caused his death at the age of 12, a shockingly sad event. He was buried in Holden. Bill is survived by his current wife, Frances, as well as his son, Eric, daughter-in-law, Lois, and grandsons, Clayton and Bennett. He is also survived by his sister, Sonja Johansen and her son, Carl Johansen. Soon after obtaining his doctorate in 1966, Bill and his family spent nine months at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa conducting post-doctoral research on coralline algae in the Indian Ocean. In 1968, Bill took a position at Clark University in Worcester where he was a biology professor until retiring in 1999. During his years at Clark, he continued research on coralline algae, often working with scientists in other countries, for example, Japan, Ireland, England and Australia. He authored and co-authored more than 50 articles on marine-related topics and two books on coralline algae, one of which he wrote in a remote cabin in the Rocky Mountains of Montana. He also taught courses in biology at Clark and annually led students on week-long trips to Bermuda to study marine life. Three times he was an instructor in month-long courses in Clark's study abroad program in Luxembourg. He also taught two summer courses on aquatic life at Boothbay Harbor, Maine. For many years, Bill was an integral member of the Northeast Algal Society (NEAS) and was President for 5 years. In 1982, Bill married Frances L. Pedusey and settled in Holden. After Frances introduced Bill to the State of Vermont in 1987, they bought a home in the little town of Tunbridge where they spent their summers. After retiring from Clark in 1999, for 10 years Bill taught an annual course at Worcester's WISE program for seniors based at Assumption College. He loved to prepare and teach varied courses as The Viking Era, Great Rivers of North American, the Great Italian Immigration, Biodiversity of the Oceans, the Ice Ages, Extinctions of Life, and Human Evolution. After Fran acquainted Bill with Vermont, he became enthused with the little town of Bethel, VT, a town where her father had spent his youth and where her Italian grandparents had lived. After spending several years collecting data on the influx of many Italian immigrants into Bethel in the early 1900's, he wrote a book on Bethel's so-called Italian era which extended from 1900-1940. The book was published just before he started weakening from cancer in September of 2016. His family would like to thank the nurses and staff of the Notre Dame Hospice for their dedicated and tireless care of Bill. They would also like to thank the numerous family and friends who have been so supportive. A memorial service honoring Bill’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26, in Immanuel Lutheran Church, Holden. Memorial donations may be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church, 346 Shrewsbury St., Holden, MA 01520; or to the Heifer Project, 216 Wachusett St., Rutland, MA 01543. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden. To share a memory or leave an online condolence, please visit our "Guest Book" here on our page.
Memorial Service
Saturday
November 26, 2016
,
11:00 AM
at
Immanuel Lutheran Church
Click for Map and Directions
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of H.William 'Bill' Johansen, please visit our flower store.
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