Dr. Lee D. Miller, a life member of the Lepidopterists' Society, passed away on 5 April 2008 at his home near Gainesville, Florida, after a long illness. He was 72 years old. He is survived by his wife, Jacqueline Y. Miller, and two daughters, Kathryn Lee Angeli of Saratoga, California, and Laura Sue Langford of New York, New York, and one granddaughter, Rowan Langford.

Fig. 1.

Lee Miller, Allyn Museum collections in 1998.

Born on 1 June 1935 in Des Moines, Iowa, Lee was the son of a lawyer, Guy Denmar Miller and a hospital administrator, Anabel Lee Smith. He grew up and attended schools in Des Moines, Iowa. Lee attended Iowa State University and worked with Dr. Jean L. Laffoon, who was a professor in the Departments of Zoology and Entomology. Dr. Laffoon served as the curator of the Iowa State Entomology Collection, a specialist in systematics of fungus gnats and was also involved in mosquito control. Active in the Entomological Society of America and Iowa Academy of Science, among other scientific organizations, he was an excellent mentor and had a major impact on Lee's life. It was here that Lee began to consider a possible career in Entomology. However, Lee had multiple scientific interests, and later transferred to the University of Iowa where he had a triple major in Geology, Biology, and English, until three days prior to graduation. Since he was required to choose only one, Lee selected and graduated with a degree in Biology in 1960. Lee began his graduate program at University of Pittsburgh while also working at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in the then Section of Insects and Spiders (now Invertebrate Zoology). Lee completed his M. S. degree (1963) on a review of the genus Osmodes Holland (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) (1964a). In 1965, he completed his Ph. D. dissertation entitled: The Higher Classification, Phylogeny, and Zoogeography of the Satyridae (Lepidoptera) with publication in 1968.

During his professional career, Lee served as a Research Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor (1965–1968) at the Department of Biology, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He was subsequently the Curator of Allyn Foundation, Inc. (1968–1972), later the Allyn Museum of Entomology (1972–1981). When the Director, Arthur C. Allyn, donated the collection, facilities and property to the Florida State Museum (now Florida Museum of Natural History) in 1981, Lee served as a Curator in the Department of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History, Allyn Museum of Entomology, University of Florida (1981–2004) (Fig. 1). With the development of the McGuire Center of Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, the Allyn Museum collections were moved to the new Center in 2004. Lee served as the Allyn Curator of Lepidoptera in the McGuire Center at the Florida Museum of Natural History from 2004 until his death. He was also an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Zoology (1981–2008) and Entomology and Nematology (1995–2008) at the University of Florida. In addition to the above, Lee was a Visiting Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, University of Florida, Tampa (1973–1977) and a Research Scholar and Adjunct Faculty Member in the Division of Natural Sciences, at New College of Florida (State Honors College), University of South Florida, Sarasota (1995–2004), where he taught Entomology, Zoogeography and Phylogenetics. A Research Associate of the Department of Zoology-Entomology, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois (1971–1979), Lee was also appointed as a Research Associate of the Section of Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1965–2008). Lee taught courses and seminars, including three workshops on the collection and identification of insects at the College of the Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas (1988–1993) along with Mark Simon and me.

Over the years Lee served the Lepidopterists' Society in various capacities, including: Zone Coordinator, Season Summary (1964–1968); Secretary-elect (1971); Secretary (1972–1976); Editor, Supplements of the Lepidopterists' Society (1971–1973); Member, Editorial Committee, Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society (1972–1995); Editor, Clench Memorial issue (vol. 37 (2) 1980); President-elect (1982–83); President (1983–84); and Immediate Past-President (1984–1985). He served as a Member at Large on several occasions. Lee conceived and implemented the idea for the Karl Jordan Medal honoring and recognizing lepidopterists for publication of original research of exceptional quality on morphology, taxonomy, systematies, zoogeography and “natural history.” He was also a member of the Association for Tropical Biology, Inc., The Society for the Study of Evolution, Society of Systematic Biology, The American Entomological Society, Entomological Society of America, Southern Lepidopterists' Society, Willi Hennig Society, Fellow, Royal Entomological Society (London), and a Fellow, Linnean Society (London). He was the Editor of the Bulletin of the Allyn Museum (1971–2007), during which he oversaw the development, external review, and production of this series, which now numbers more than 160 issues and is still in production at the McGuire Center. He also served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera (1971–1978). In addition to the above, Lee was an accredited judge of the American Orchid Society, and served as Judges Co-training Coordinator, Florida North Central Judging Center in Tampa (1986–1996).

As a child, Lee was introduced to natural history at an early age as both of his parents were avid bird watchers and interested in native plants, insects, and mammals. Denmar had had a butterfly and moth collection as a child, and he and Lee collected in both Iowa and Minnesota throughout Lee's childhood. Denmar's collection was eventually donated to Lee's grade school in Des Moines. In addition, there was a group of boys in east Des Moines, the “35th St. Boys”, who were pals and went fishing, hunting, and collected insects among other things. They included B. C. Johnson, Ron Royer, and Norris Young among others. Lee was the oldest, and taught them how to collect and prepare butterflies and moths. When his parents moved to Franklin and 39th St. in West Des Moines, these friends would still get together on occasion. They would often go collecting at various state parks including Pilot Knob State Park (Hancock Co.), and Waubonsie State Park (Fremont Co.) in southwestern Iowa, in search of new additions to their collections. A couple of these trips culminated in Lee's first paper published in the Journal (1962a) in which he reported observations on nine Iowa butterfly species, including four species new to the state. Later, Lee joined John Downey and others in revisiting a few of these sites (1975–1978), to see if some of the uncommon species were still extant, and contributed to the recently published The Butterflies of Iowa (Schlicht et al. 2007). Lee's personal collection was donated to the Carnegie Museum about the time that he completed his Ph. D. in May, 1965.

In addition to sharing their love for natural history, the Miller family also shared a passion for fishing and hunting. Summers were spent fishing along the Raccoon River near Des Moines or in lakes near their cabin or farm in Minnesota. Fall activities included collecting wild rice and cranberries, hunting ducks or grouse and watching the Springer Spaniels work the fields for birds. Of course, collecting and watching Lepidoptera were always part of these trips. Lee and Denmar coveted their Master Angler trophies for their fishing prowess in Canada (Fig. 2), but butterfly nets were always included with the fishing gear.

Fig. 2–3.

(2) Lee with one of his Master Angler fish about 1974. (3) Lee and Denmar Miller upon Lee winning the Iowa State High School tournament in 1953.

Lee and Denmar also shared a love for the game of golf. Denmar had won nearly all of the state's top titles and had represented the state of Iowa at the Western Open (1936–1939). Lee in turn was a competitive golfer in high school, won the Iowa State High School title in 1953 (Fig. 3), and went on to play golf at both Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. He once competed against Jack Nicklaus in a Big 10 tournament, but Nicklaus was a formidable competitor even then. However, golf took more of a recreational role later in Lee's life.

Following his graduation from the University of Iowa in 1960, Lee and his then wife, Susan, with daughter Kathryn, went to Casa Grande, Arizona, near Tucson, in search of employment as an entomologist. It wasn't long before Lee was out in the field and saw some Megathymus. These skippers seemed unusual compared to other Hesperiidae that he had encountered in the Midwest. Soon after, Lee had the opportunity to meet Kilian Roever, who was then in the Department of Entomology at the University of Arizona. Kilian took him to some of his special collecting sites, and Lee had numerous opportunities to observe and collect immature Megathymus. He accumulated tents of seven species, some from two or more localities, and began a comparative study of their emergence patterns. When some potential job opportunities arose in Des Moines later that year, the family traveled back east with these immature Megathymus in the car. Lee immediately contacted “the 35 St. Boys” about the Megathymus, and they eagerly came to see these new treasures and caught up on their recent collecting experiences. Lee recorded the number of males versus females and made observations on other aspects of their emergence patterns. He later reported back to Kilian in a letter of “the megs emerging thick and fast for about a month.” Thus began an exchange of information on skippers between Kilian and Lee, who shared a passion for all butterflies, especially Hesperioidea. Years later after moving to Sarasota in 1969, Kilian arrived unannounced the following spring to collect Megathymus cofaqui on Longboart Key and further south to Venice. At that time, Longboat was mostly undeveloped, and there were stands of Yucca aloifolia all along the key. Following visits to various spots in the Sarasota area, Kil continued to collect M. cofaqui all the way up the Gulf coast into the Florida panhandle.

The last Megathymus from Arizona emerged in Des Moines early on 11 November 1960, the day that Lee and the family headed off to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he had secured a job as a plant pest control inspector for USDA (1960–1961). Prior to this trip, Lee had already corresponded with Harry Clench and took the opportunity to visit the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh on several occasions. Here he met the Curator in the Division of Insects and Spiders, Dr. Richard M. Fox, who held a teaching appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Following a successful collecting expedition to Liberia, Fox had recently taken this position at Carnegie. Given Lee's interest in Hesperiidae, he was intrigued with Fox's Liberian material. Arthur W. Lindsey was already working on the skippers from Liberia, but due to his declining health, he needed some assistance in completing this portion of the proposed volume. Lee was also exploring the possibility of continuing his education and obtaining advanced degrees with Fox. In addition to completing the Liberian monograph, Fox was in the process of organizing a two month expedition to Baja California (October–December, 1961). This trip was financially supported by a distinguished scientist research fellow at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, Margaret J. Cary. Cary was a noted specialist on the Sphingidae and at that time, the southern half of the Baja peninsula was largely unexplored. There were excellent opportunities for studying the biodiversity and discovering new species in a number of phyla. Lee joined the expedition as an entomologist while arrangements were in progress for his admission to graduate school. For Lee, who until then had encountered such difficulty in trying to secure an entomological position, it was a surprising turn of events.

As is with such expeditions, not everything went as planned. Harry Clench (lepidopterist), Neil Richmond (herpetologist), and John Bauer (preparator) drove from Pittsburgh and met Lee at Richmond, Indiana. The itinerary scheduled the above personnel to travel and collect along the west coast of Mexico for two weeks in the newly acquired International Carryall and to meet Dr. Fox and his wife, Jean, in Mazatlan (Fig. 4a). However, the vehicle was soon nicknamed “Pariah” as the gas mileage was a little over 14 mi/gal., and within four days of starting the trip from Pittsburgh, the battery had died. The unexpected problems with the truck provided constant delays, immense frustration, and entertainment throughout the trip. The field team flew from Mazatlan into southern Baja on November 4, 1961, while the vehicle and other equipment arrived three days later by ferry. The group was separated into three field teams, who would collect herps, fossils, plants, and insects. With Lee on a horse and Harry on a mule, they headed up into the Boca de la Sierra for a week of collecting and camping (4b, 4c). After the first day, Lee decided that he would rather walk and collect than ride. A few days later, Harry's mule fell down a hill. In the end, both animals carried gear, and Lee and Harry walked out of the forest.

Fig. 4.

Margaret J. Cary field expedition to Baja California. October–November, 1961: a) Field team at Guaycura, La Paz (left to right), Lee Miller, Jean Fox, Harry Clench, Neil Richmond, Richard Fox, and John Bauer; b) Harry and Lee heading up into the Boca de la Sierra; c) Camping area in La Cienaga I, Sierra Laguna; d) Lee and Harry examining Agave for Megathymus larvae near San Ignacio; e) Rocky road about 30 mi. north of Bahia, S. L. Gonzaga; f) Sand dunes approximately 29 mi. N. of San Felipe with Lee and Harry (two future presidents of the Lepidopterists' Society) hard at work celebrating the end of the trip.

Once the surveys had been completed in southern Baja, Dick and Jean Fox flew directly back to Pittsburgh. The rest of the crew drove the 600 miles north to Tijuana, collecting along the way over the primitive trails and “rocky roads” (Fig. 4e) into a variety of habitats (4f). Lee was heavily involved in the collecting of insects during this expedition, especially Lepidoptera and primarily the Hesperioidea (4d). His efforts resulted in a collaboration with Don MacNeil and the description of two new subspecies, Polites sabuleti margaretae and Cogia hippalus peninsularis (1969). This experience was the impetus for taking four additional collecting trips to continental Mexico with an emphasis on different states (1966–1973) (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Morelos, Guererro, Chiapas, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango), and has provided a historical timeline and background for the more thorough biodiversity surveys in progress and completed by Jorge Llorente, Amando Luis, and other members in their working group at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in addition to Carmen Pozo De la Tijera, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR).

Following the Baja trip, Lee entered graduate school in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh in January, 1962. He was a member of the first Organization of Tropical Studies class at La Selva in 1963 where he met Dan Janzen and Jay Savage and made new friendships that would last throughout his life. It was also here that his interest in all aspects of the Neotropics and the associated fauna and flora intensified. During his stay, Mount Irazú, the tallest volcano in Central America, erupted. Lee took pictures of this natural event and noted how the insects attempted to adapt to the situation. For a geologist/biologist, Lee continued to have a keen interest over the years on the succession of plants and insects following such catastrophic events and the associated evolutionary changes.

Following the completion of his Ph. D., Lee accepted a position as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. in 1965. There he developed and taught five courses in addition to mentoring more than six graduate students in just three years. In late 1967, Lee was presented with an opportunity to curate a private Lepidoptera collection. He interviewed in November with Arthur C. Allyn, an avid collector, private businessman, and co-owner of the Chicago White Sox. Allyn had recently acquired the W. J. Kaye collection, an international collection that contained a number of types. Mr. Allyn wanted someone to fill this position immediately, but Lee had already signed a teaching contract and had three graduate students, who were in the process of trying to finish degrees. So he turned down the position with regret. Allyn then placed an advertisement in Science and received more than 300 applications for the position. Following Christmas vacation, there was message from Allyn requesting that Lee return his call. However, when he attempted to do so, there was some confusion with another Miller, the representative for the baseball players' union. In the end, Allyn reoffered the curatorial position to Lee and said that he was willing to wait until July 1, 1968, for him to begin. Lee gladly accepted Allyn's offer, but with a few caveats. Allyn stated that the position would be finite and last for seven years, but he had a long list of things that he would like to see accomplished during this period. To fulfill these requirements and initiate a state of the art scientific collection, Lee would need a curatorial assistant for preparation of specimens, general collection maintenance, etc. Lee and I had met at the University of Pittsburgh and had worked together on various courses at Pitt and at Catholic University. Neither of us could deny the natural compatibility and magic behind what would become the “Miller team.” Mr. Allyn was supportive of an assistant position which I accepted along with Lee's proposal.

Initially our goals were to expand both the taxonomic and geographic representation of the collection worldwide, especially of butterflies and some moths. For the latter, we would focus on Saturniidae, Sphingidae, and Arctiidae as there were significant holdings in the W. J. Kaye collection. In addition, we also wanted to establish the Allyn collection as one of the most significant scientific research resources for future lepidopterists. Allyn was very open to these suggestions. In the interim, Mr. Allyn wanted Lee to represent him at an auction of Lepidoptera in Paris in early February, 1968. The auction included the LeMoult collection among others and was conducted by Claude Lemaire. Although Allyn was intrigued by the more showy Morpho and Papilionidae, Lee was interested in obtaining unprepared specimens, especially of the Charaxes, Euphaedra, and Euriphene (African Nymphalidae) and also in filling some major voids in Allyn's collection, especially in the Riodinidae, Hesperioidea, and Lycaenidae that were each represented by a single drawer. In addition to some types and a number of prepared specimens, Lee eventually purchased more than 300 “LeMoult” boxes of unprepared specimens.

Lee's interest in the African Lepidoptera expanded when we joined Arthur Allyn. Allyn was interested in a number of African genera, especially Charaxes and Colotis (Pieridae). Although the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and American Museum of Natural History had significant African collections, we sought to increase holdings from other African countries that were not well represented in other U.S. collections. Fortunately, Allyn already had business interests in South Africa with excellent contacts. We supported a number of collectors in the field and obtained a number of collections during 1968–1977. In addition, Lee had purchased material earlier from Father Theo Maessen, a priest in Ghana, beginning in 1963, and this continued until Maessen left the country in 1987. Over the years Lee managed to make three trips into South Africa and one into Kenya. This provided him with additional information not only about the habitats and ecology of these butterflies but more insight concerning the historical geology and biogeography of this continent.

Another major geographic area of interest was, of course, the Neotropics due to Lee's research on the Hesperiidae and Nymphalidae, and in particular the Satyrinae. Lee was particularly interested in the higher altitudinal Satyrinae as there was more promise for obtaining endemic species and new taxa to be described. He had made contacts with a number of collectors and/or colleagues throughout the Neotropics. Through F. Martin Brown, who had conducted surveys various in countries in South America in the late 1920's and lived for some time in Ecuador, Lee contacted Rosario de Lafebre and the Velastigui family. In 1969, Rosario, her family, and their cadre of collectors were charged with collecting selected lepidopteran groups on all of the volcanic peaks in Ecuador. There were occasional forays into lower elevations, such as the Rio Coca, as opportunities for travel into some of these isolated areas for biodiversity surveys became available. Through Rosario, we also met Nadia Venedictoff, who had collected both butterflies and moths throughout Ecuador, often accompanied by Rosario. Nadia donated her large Lepidoptera collection to the Allyn Museum in 1985. Both of these collections among others were significant additions to the neotropical holdings as they not only provided new material for description but increased our taxonomic and geographic representations in the collection.

Due to the expansion of the collections, library and additional space for new equipment, the Allyn Museum soon outgrew the original Florida facilities at the Sarasota Bank and Trust building and was moved to a new 5500 square foot building on Bay Shore Road. We hosted the Lepidopterists' Society meetings there in 1973. Research visits to the collections increased markedly following the meetings, and a few of these visitors were attracted to the Sarasota area. In 1977, Steve Steinhauser moved to Sarasota to work in the collections on a regular basis, and he was soon followed by Dale and Joanne Jenkins in 1979. Nadia Venedictoff also moved to Sarasota and worked there 1986–1991. Arthur Allyn had purchased a scanning electron microscope to enable his detailed morphological studies on Lepidoptera. Beginning in 1981, John Downey spent summers working and collaborating with Arthur Allyn on a number of butterfly ultrastructure studies using the SEM as well as morphological studies on immature stages and pupal sound production. John moved permanently to Sarasota in 1988. There were also a number of New College students, who worked on undergraduate theses, and others who assisted with the preparation of specimens. The Museum was a hub of activity with the integration of new specimens and revisionary and other studies in progress. Lee always enjoyed working in the collections with visitors. He had a humorous bent and was known for not only being able to discuss the systematics, biogeography and life history of various Lepidoptera but also for having a long list of the latest jokes. There was never a dull moment at the Allyn Museum; however, the combination of Steve Steinhauser and Lee made for a truly comical team. Together there was always some bizarre occurrence, interesting puns or new humor to be shared.

It is difficult to summarize all of the significant highlights of Lee's life and accomplishments as a lepidopterist here. Some are listed above, but a few additional accounts are noteworthy. Over a number of years, F. Martin Brown had located, documented, and designated type specimens originally described by William Henry Edwards and published these for separate taxonomic groups. In 1974, Brownie enlisted Lee to assist him with the Hesperioidea to complete the project. Over the next six years, they visited various museums throughout the U. S. and Canada and published four papers (1975, 1977, 1980, 1987) and in all, designated 53 Lectotypes and 23 Neotypes. In addition to the above, Lee and Brownie co-authored A Catalogue/Checklist of the Butterflies of America North of Mexico published by the Lepidopterists' Society in 1981. Initially they reworked the original dos Passos checklist and updated the nomenclature including the higher classification, which has been subsequently refined. There were many discussions between the authors about generic versus subgeneric designations, and often these resulted in compromise. In order to keep costs down and through the kindness of Jack Serbin, Serbin Printing Inc., we were allowed to typeset some of the volume on his new electronic equipment on the weekends or at night. The Lepidopterists' Society benefited from this effort as the volume sold well and the original publication investment was returned within five years.

In 1980, Dr. David Spencer Smith, who I had met at the University of Miami Medical School in 1965, visited the Allyn Museum along with Dennis Leston and Barbara Lenczewski. They were actively working on variation in Eurema daira, especially palmira, in south Florida. David was also a friend of Mark Simon, and he knew that Lee and Mark had been collecting in the Bahamas on a regular basis. David was interested in Bahamian butterflies and had also been collecting there along with Dennis Knowles. Over the next few years, we developed a potential project on the Caribbean butterflies, which culminated in The Butterflies of the West Indies and South Florida. At the time, David was the Hope Professor at Oxford University Museum and a Professor in the Department of Zoology. He approached Oxford University Press about their potential interest in the project, and we obtained a contract in 1987. Although the text was initiated in 1988, there were so many voids in our knowledge, especially of the butterfly fauna of the Virgin Islands and Lesser Antilles. Thus, we initiated surveys over the next six years making several trips each year in order to obtain current information on the butterfly biodiversity of these islands. We did not want this work to be based solely on specimens in museum and private collections. Along with the superb illustrations of Richard Lewington and through the assistance and kindness of many colleagues, the volume was finally published in 1994 after years of editing, annotations, and descriptions of new taxa.

Lee's primary research interests included the systematies, taxonomy, and biogeography of Lepidoptera, especially the Hesperiidae, Nymphalidae, and Lyeaenidae. He was an authority on the Satyrinae worldwide and published a number of revisionary studies on the group. His dissertation work on The Higher Classification, Phylogeny, and Zoogeography of the Satyridae (Lepidoptera) (1968a) represents a seminal work within the field, and his studies on Pindis, Megisto, and Paramacera set the standard for future revisionary studies. He had initiated several revisionary treatments of the Euptyehiina, especially the genus Taygetis; these unfinished studies are in progress and will be completed by various collaborators in conjunction with me in the future. Lee had also continued his interest within the Hesperiidae and was especially enamored with the African fauna (Miller & Collins, 1997; Douglass & Miller 2003) and the close alignment with certain taxa in the Neotropics. Our studies in the West Indies further fueled Lee’s interest in the historical biogeography and relative age of Lepidoptera and are summarized in three papers (1989, 1998, 2001).

Figs. 5–6.

(5) Lee sharing some humorous moments at the Hope Museum in 1986. Left to right: Lee Miller. Chris O'Toole, and David Spencer Smith; (6) Collecting in the Sierra Maestre in eastern Cuba. 1995. Left to right: Mark Simon, Lee, and Jackie Miller.

In Lee's opinion, one of his greatest accomplishments was the implementation of a phylogenetic arrangement for museum Lepidoptera on a worldwide basis. Lee realized that such an arrangement provided researchers and students with the opportunity to review higher level taxa in one place as opposed to curating taxa according to a biogeographic region. He believed that natural history collections are not only a historical document but also an evolutionary learning tool. Amateurs and professionals can learn the characteristic appearance or gestalt of a group through such an arrangement.

However, with all of these interests and accomplishments, Lee would probably state here that his greatest contribution was his interaction with students of Lepidoptera at every level and especially with amateurs in the field. The Lepidopterists' Society has always been a very unique organization in the respect that it includes both amateurs and professionals and provides the opportunity for both to interact, learn, and collaborate with one another. Lee's Presidential address in 1984 was a tribute to the amateur lepidopterist during which he recounted the accomplishments of a number of well known amateur lepidopterists through time, including Pieter Cramer, Dru Drury, Jacob Hübner, Frederick DuCane Godman, Osbert Salvin, Walter Rothschild, James Joicey, William Barnes, Lionel Higgins, Cyril F. dos Passos, Roy and Connie Kendall, Dick Dominick, Arthur C. Allyn, and today, Lee would have added William McGuire. These individuals, among nameless others, were or are amateurs, who worked in other occupations but have enjoyed the sense of discovery and learning about all aspects of Lepidoptera. Lee always had time to talk with amateurs, professionals, and students at all levels of their careers, review specimens with them in the collection, and discuss various topics. Together, we followed the careers of a number of students, some from middle school through their graduate degrees and into their professional careers. Over the years, Lee was proud of the accomplishments of so many students, perhaps best exemplified by Ron Royer, now at Minot State University, who was one of the original “35th St. Boys” from Des Moines, and with whom he had spent so many enjoyable trips in the field as a teenager. As Ron Royer so aptly stated about Lee, “he has given countless others such indelible memories to cherish as he gave us (the 35th St. Boys).” To Lee, this was always time well spent, as these efforts were repaid with the enthusiasm which comes with new discoveries, long-term friendships, and sometimes, even new additions to the Museum collections. For Lee, life was to be enjoyed, and he felt that he was one of the luckiest people in the world — working on Lepidoptera and actually getting paid for it!