Obituary of Harry Yeatman

Henry "Harry" Clay Yeatman, age 97, died on Nov. 20, 2013, at his home in Sewanee. He was professor emeritus of biology at the University of the South and a beloved naturalist. He and his wife have written "Nature Notes" for the Sewanee Mountain Messenger since 1985. Yeatman was born in Ashwood, Tenn., on June 22, 1916. He attended the Baylor School and then University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where he earned a bachelor's degree in zoology and a master's degree in zoology with a minor in botany. He served in World War II as a staff sergeant medic and completed his Ph.D. after the war at UNC-Chapel Hill. He taught at Chapel Hill and came to Sewanee in 1950 to teach biology. He was the William Kenan Professor of Biology and taught courses in zoology, comparative anatomy, vertebrate embryology, histology, parasitology, ecology and botany. He retired from teaching in 1981. In addition to teaching at Sewanee, he served as a visiting professor of marine biology at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in 1967, did humanitarian work by assisting Iran and other countries with their efforts to contain populations of copepods that carry guinea worm larvae; and worked with the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization training scientists in copepod identification to prevent the spread of parasitic worms and disease. In 2010, he was the first recipient of the Trails and Trilliums Environmental Education Award established in his honor. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, listed in Who's Who in the World and in Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare. He is survived by his wife Jean Anderson Yeatman, son Henry Clay (Paula) Yeatman III of Lilburn, Ga., daughter Jean H. Yeatman (Claude de Pamphilis) of State College, Pa., and two grandsons, Walker and Harry. The family will have a burial service 11:00 A.M. Monday, December 30, 2013 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Ashwood. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014, at All Saints' Chapel, University of the South, Sewanee. There will be a reception following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Harry C. Yeatman Award in Biology at the University of the South, 735 University Ave., Sewanee TN 37383 or to the Community Action Committee, P. O. Box 267, Sewanee TN 37375.