Frank Alexander Lang
May 14, 1937 – June 26, 2019
Frank Lang’s stories are indexed here.
Frank was born in Olympia, Washington, and died peacefully of natural causes. He spent his childhood roaming the woods and fields of Olympia and the shores of Puget Sound. These experiences would inform his entire life and career.
Frank attended Oregon State University and graduated with a B.S. in Botany. That year, he married his wife, Suzanne. They moved to Seattle, where he completed his master’s degree at the University of Washington. While working on his PhD in Vancouver, BC their son Thomas was born. After brief appointments in Seattle and at Whitman College in Walla Walla, the young family moved to Ashland. There, he began teaching in the Biology Department atthe then-called Southern Oregon College. He taught for over 30 years. Daughter Amy was born shortly after moving to Ashland. Frank was active in academic life, becoming department chair (more than once), working on various committees, and sitting on the Faculty Senate for many years. Summers, he led study trips to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Frank took several sabbaticals during his tenure at Southern going to Dallas, TX to work on medical illustration, and to Boston, MA, where
he worked at Harvard’s Gray Herbarium. He also travelled to England and Scotland to research the 19th century Scottish botanist David Douglas, for whom the fir tree is named.
Frank was active in the Native Plant Society of Oregon, the Crater Lake Natural History Association, and the Jefferson Center. He contributed several articles to the Oregon Encyclopedia. After he retired from teaching, he worked for the Medford District of the BLM, concentrating on the Ashland Resource Area. One of his passions was the Cascade/Siskiyou Ecological Emphasis Area, which was later declared a National Monument by President Bill Clinton. He explored Argentina and Tasmania. Frank and Suzanne twice traveled to Japan as part of an exchange with Japanese Botanists.
He played soccer, and was an avid mountain biker and fly fisher. He was also an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church. He enjoyed annual fall trips with his wife and friends, touring our many western National Parks.
Frank may best be known locally for his weekly radio pieces, “Nature Notes,” heard on Jefferson Public Radio. With his signature wit and humor, he commented on topics related to the flora and fauna of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Many of these pieces are in his books, A Nature Notes Sampler Vols. 1 & 2.
In his role as teacher and advocate for the natural world, Frank touched many lives. He will be remembered for his dry wit, irreverent sense of humor, and terrible puns. A friend, in describing Frank’s bond with his students, put it this way: “It was not showy, or demonstrative, it was merely intense and sustained, as it was with his friends.” Those who knew him felt this bond.
Frank is survived by his wife Suzanne, son Thomas Lang (Shawn Barrett), daughter Amy Lang (Kerry Knestis), grandson Milo Knestis, and older sister Mary Lou York.
The memorial service and Committal to Sacred Ground will be held at 11:00 AM on Saturday, July 27th at Trinity Episcopal Church, 44 N 2nd Street, Ashland. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Native Plant Society of Oregon or Trinity Episcopal Church.
Frank Lang remembered
Memorial planned Saturday for professor, botanist and author
By John Darling
for the Mail Tribune
Frank Lang, a locally renowned biologist, author, radio personality and Southern Oregon University professor for more than 30 years, will be honored at a memorial at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 27, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Ashland.
It will be followed by a wake-party at 6 p.m. at Northwest Pizza & Pasta “with beer and puns on tap,” said his daughter Amy Lang, making note of the professor’s pun-laced lectures.
“My sweet daddy Frank Lang died peacefully of natural causes on June 26,” she posted on Facebook. “He loved plants, animals, Monty Python, puns, scotch, adventure, the natural world, his dogs, getting people riled up, teaching, learning, exploring, online quizzes, the comics and most importantly, my mom, Suzanne, brother Tom … and me.”
Lang was widely known in the region for his weekly “Nature Notes” pieces on Jefferson Public Radio and for his guided botany expeditions, lasting several days in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
His broadcasts formed his books, “The Nature Notes Sampler,” in two volumes.
Lang was born in 1937 in Olympia, Washington, where he wandered the wilds and the shores of Puget Sound in childhood, fueling his love of biology and winning his Boy Scout Merit Badge under noted naturalist-author Margaret McKenny, according to his printed obituary.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in botany from Oregon State University, a master’s degree at University of Washington, and a Ph.D. from University of British Columbia.
After retirement, Lang worked with the Ashland Resource Area of the Bureau
of Land Management on an intensive study of the Cascade- Siskiyou National Monument.
Lang was active in the Native Plant Society of Oregon and the Crater Lake Natural History Association. Professionally, he explored Argentina and Tasmania and worked at Harvard’s Gray Herbarium. He traveled to England and Scotland to research the 19th century Scottish botanist David Douglas, for whom the Douglas fir tree is named.
In an Ashland Tidings thread about Lang’s passing, Jodi French said, “What a gentle, clever, funny and lovely man.”
Susan Powell added, “He was a wonderful contributor to what makes Ashland special.”
Jonnie Dale Lieberman, who took a class in Nature Drawing and Biology from Lang, commented, “What a joy to draw and be with this lover of life.”
Rosalind Schrodt noted, “Frank was my favorite professor when I was at SOU. His energy and wit and understanding of art and nature had a tremendous effect on me, blessing us with his grace. RIP dear teacher.”
Noted Ashland nature activist and authority Diane Newell Meyer, who studied under Lang for her environmental degree in 1971-72, noted, “I had a work-study job with him in the herbarium. … He was funny and quick-witted. We kept in touch through the Native Plant Society. His sense of humor was always there!”
Longtime Mail Tribune reporter and columnist Paul Fattig said, “He was such a wonderful human being, one of those whose wit and wisdom will be sorely missed.”
Lisa Spencer said, “I loved his presence here in our valley … such a loss.”
Native Ashlander Rebecca Cintron Osvold said, “Another lovely soul who remains with us in spirit.”
Publisher Steven School noted, “Remembering the lucky times I got to spend with Frank, a truly wonderful man who gave so much to the community.”
Lang was 82.
Frank Lang’s stories are indexed here.
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