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 From the News Desk...Students came first for Penn State's HellerThe moment seemed out of character for Paul Heller, Ph.D., except maybe to those who knew him best. As an entomologist at Penn State University, Heller was attending a regional superintendents meeting in the early 1990s at Centre Hills Country Club in State College, Pa. The required jacket and tie spoke to the serious nature of the affair. On the other hand, the beer cooler that Heller had in his car was symbolic of his dedication to his profession and his fun-loving nature. After dinner, he asked the assistant superintendent sitting next to him if he could help him bring the cooler inside. “We brought in the cooler, and he handed out live grub samples with desert, for superintendents to identify them,” said Danny Kline, who later became Heller’s research technician for six-plus years. “People just started laughing, but he was serious. He said ‘I want you to identify these and tell me what they are.’ ” Heller died Jan. 18 after a 16-month battle with colon cancer. He was 61.  A native of Wooster, Ohio, Heller was a graduate of Malone College in Canton and earned both a masters degree and doctorate in entomology from Ohio State University. He began teaching at Penn State in 1976, but had many interests off campus, and served for years as a volunteer on-air personality for a local Christian radio station.
He married his wife, June, in 1990, and the couple traveled extensively together, including exotic, foreign locations as well as day trips throughout the Mid Atlantic and Northeast. To many, even some of his colleagues, Heller often was characterized as difficult to know. He shunned personal recognition, but heaped praise upon colleagues. He also worked tirelessly to help his students, often giving hours of his own time – and more – to help them. “He did a lot of things quietly for others,” said Gary Felton, Ph.D., professor and head of Penn State’s entomology department. “He used his own money to send students to professional meetings, and he would buy things for colleagues when their research funds were low. This was nothing he publicized, he just did it, and then I would hear about second- or third-hand. “Paul also performed an important service on our awards committee for the department. He went out of his way to put others up for awards, but he didn’t like to be talked about for awards. That’s how he was.” Indeed, that reserved side always lingered. In fact, Kline noted that Heller often was in disbelief that anyone would sit in a room and listen to him discuss pest issues and solutions. However, Kline, who worked for years as an assistant superintendent to his father at Lewiston Country Club, said Heller was the main attraction at many turf management functions. “He just didn’t allow people to get close to him unless he really trusted them,” said Kline, who was 10 the first time he met Heller during a site visit to Lewiston. “He never believed anyone wanted to hear him speak. But I sat through those talks for years as an assistant superintendent, and he was the guy on the bill you came to see. You couldn’t sleep through his talks. He was Paul Heller. We used to call it the Paul Heller Comedy Hour. He would present material in a way you couldn’t forget it.” It was with students to whom Heller opened up most. “He hated being called Doctor,” said Kline who was 10 years old the first time he met Heller during a site visit to Lewiston. “He insisted his students call him Uncle Paul. “His students came first. He cared, and he went out of his way to help them. His classes were designed not to overwhelm, but for them to learn. His students loved him.” So did area superintendents and Christmas tree growers for who he would help develop IPM programs. “He was the ultimate extension person,” said Mark Kuhns, CGCS at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. “He spent countless hours on golf courses.” Kuhns also recalls the enthusiasm on Heller’s face and in his voice upon newfound destruction caused by common pests. “He was like a plant pathologist,” Kuhns said. “He was one of those people who when there was an outbreak, it was a moment of happy excitement for him.” Kline echoed that sentiment, and saw it first-hand during many lectures Heller would conduct to his students. “Teaching was his home. I don’t know how we’re going to replace him. Hopefully we will, but you can never replace someone with that kind of history and dedication. I just hope we can get someone decent who can do half the job he did.”“His students know what a clown he could be,” Kline said. “He would put up a slide of damage on a golf course and say ‘Isn’t that the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?’ Then you’d look up and see a golf course that looked like a ploughed up cornfield.” His dedication to his students extended to the online community he taught through Penn State’s World Campus. “He was a favorite instructor among the online students because eh spent hours helping them one-on-one,” said Al Turgeon, Ph.D., professor and director of turfgrass programs for the school’s World Campus. “He was a kind and generous man who bent over backwards to help people. “Teaching was his home. I don’t know how we’re going to replace him. Hopefully we will, but you can never replace someone with that kind of history and dedication. I just hope we can get someone decent who can do half the job he did.” Plans are under way at Penn State to establish a scholarship fund in his name, Felton said. Survivors include wife, June of Spring Mills, Pa.; brother, David and sister-in-law Deb of Wooster; and grandsons Andrew and Eric of Wooster. He was interred at Mountain Lake Cemetery in Mountain Lake, Minn. |
In other news... Bayer consolidates professional, consumer divisions Jacqueline Applegate to oversee both segments; Josh Weeks to retire in November. Posted: 09/09/2010 Read more » July heat keeps many golfers at home Rounds played at private clubs, daily fee facilities drops 5 percent. Posted: 09/08/2010 Read more » Study examines spring pre-stress fertility programs Research finds no correlation between biostimulant applications before spring core cultivation and recovery. Posted: 09/02/2010 Read more » Aquatrols, TurfNet present Water Week The series of five Webinars is aimed at helping superintendents manage water and soils more efficiently. Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » News and people briefs Registration opens soon for Irrigation Show, Briggs & Stratton elects new chairman, FMC taps new director for professional solutions division Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » Complete news index » |
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