WVFA Mountain State Forestry Spring 2021

F E A T U R E D N E W S 16 West Virginia Forestry Association Mountain State Forestry | Spring 2021 www.wvfa.org WEST VIRGINIA FORESTRY LOST A GREAT EARLY LEADER THIS MONTH. William H. “Ol’ Bill” Gillespie, 90, of Charleston, a forester, naturalist, and fossil expert, passed away. He was educated in the Webster County schools, and attended the WVU School of Forestry where he received his bachelor’s degree. He then obtained a combined master’s degree in plant taxonomy and geology and ultimately became an adjunct professor at WVU in the Department of Geology and Geography, supervising many master’s and Ph.D. candidates. While teaching, Bill began compiling an extensive number of scientific articles, abstracts, books, and other materials. His best known books include The Edible Wild Plants of West Virginia, Forest Trees of West Virginia, and Plant Fossils of West Virginia, considered the “bible of fossil plant identification in West Virginia.” In 1967, Bill began his 37-year career in state government, including 18 years as deputy commissioner of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture and eight years as the director of the West Virginia Division of Forestry and State Forester. As State Forester and later a private consulting forester, he was a strong supporter of the West Virginia Forestry Association serving on the board of directors and as an officer. Among his many distinctions, those of which he was most proud included being the father of five children, a certified forester, a member of the West Virginia Lumberjack Hall of Fame, and a member of the Southeastern Woodchopping Championship Hall of Fame. Remembering William H. Gillespie