Dr. Erik C. Zobrist's Obituary
Erik Christian Zobrist died of natural causes on March 28, 2013 in Lovettsville, Virginia. Born September 21, 1961 in Moline, Illinois, he graduated from Truman High School in Independence in 1979, and from Grinnell College with a degree in biology in 1983.
Erik received a Masters Degree from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary in 1988, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of South Carolina in 1992.
Dr. Zobrist became a biologist in 1992 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce in Silver Springs, Maryland, where he specialized in habitat restoration. He worked on many wetland habitats in the Louisiana bayous before and after Hurricane Katrina. His career was dedicated to the restoration of marine life throughout the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions.
He co-authored articles about benthic ecology and wetland restoration in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, the Marine Ecology Progress Series, and the World Dredging Mining and Construction Magazine. Dr. Zobrist received recognition for being an outstanding member of the National Sea Grant Fellows Program in 1993. He also received a Silver Medal for Meritorious Service in 2001 and the Coastal America 2004 Partnership Award.
In 1995 and 2008 Erik was presented Bronze Medal Awards from the Department of Commerce for superior federal service related to his restoration activities in coastal Louisiana. He helped to restore over 25,000 acres of fishery habitat and 1,800 acres of wetland.
His dedication to the environment and to sound scientific analysis will be sorely missed by his colleagues at the NOAA Habitat Program. His family will miss his sense of humor, his easy going nature, and his ardent support for Kansas City sports teams.
He is survived by his former wife Keturah Johnson, daughter Myrick Zobrist, and son Jack Zobrist of Purcellville, Virginia. His family includes his two brothers and their families, Karl and Beth of Kansas City, and their children Andrew, Abbey and Bennett, and Mark and Ellen of New Haven, Missouri, and their children, David and Brad, his wife Lauren, and their daughter Lydia Mae. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Benedict K. and Donna Mae Anderson Zobrist.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, April 2 at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 711 West Main Street, Purcellville VA 20132 at 7 p.m.
Memorials may be sent to the Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation, P.O. Box 755, Shawnee Mission KS 66102, or to Friends of Homeless Animals or the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church Mission Trip, c/o Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Circle SE, Leesburg VA 20175.
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