IN MEMORIAM

George Anderson Hugh McClelland

Professor of Entomology

Davis

1931 – 2005

George Anderson Hugh McClelland "Andy" passed away peacefully at home on January 13, 2005 after a valiant battle with prostrate cancer. Born on May 12, 1931 to Victoria and Hugh McClelland in Bushey (a suburb of London) England, Andy enjoyed a childhood with increasing fascination of nature, including flora and fauna. Andy's education in England included Public School at Gresham in Norfolk, Cambridge, and the University of London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene where he was awarded his PhD in medical entomology in 1962.

 

Andy McClelland joined the Department of Entomology at UC Davis in 1963 as an Assistant Professor and advanced through his career to Professor of Entomology in 1975, until he retired in 1994. In 1969 Andy was honored by the United Nations to serve in W.H.O., World Health Organization, in Tanzania Africa to be the Director of East Africa Aedes Research Institute. Prior to his career at UC Davis he had been a Scientific Officer for the East Africa High Commission E.A. Virus Research Institute in Uganda, East Africa and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Biology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. As a faculty member at UC Davis he pursued a research program that emphasized population ecology and genetics of mosquitoes. Specifically, he studied mosquito population dynamics with the goal of developing predictive simulation models and provided detailed studies of mosquito circadian rhythms, pupation, dispersal and parasitization. His research broadly related to the interaction of mosquitoes with their environment and thus to the disciplines of ecology, ethology and genetics. During reviews of Andy's research, colleagues called his contributions: “innovative, meticulous, scholarly and contemporary.” He published over 80 articles and wrote a book on Medical Entomology, which was widely used all over the United States.

 

Andy’s colleagues remember his tremendous interest and devotion to teaching as an extraordinary contribution to the University of California and to the many students his courses and innovative teaching touched. He was one of the first people to integrate art, culture and insect natural history into a course for undergraduates. This fusion of art and science was ahead of its time and tremendously successful. His course, “Insects and Human Affairs,” routinely drew enrollments exceeding 200 students. Students frequently commented that Andy “was one of the best professors” they ever had at UC Davis and praised his organization, wonderful course content and his personable, clear teaching style. His colleagues viewed him as a superior teacher and honored his achievements with several nominations for teaching awards. One such nomination beautifully summed up how Andy's colleagues viewed him, “Our Department views Professor McClelland as the consummate teacher. We feel that he sets the standard by which all courses taught here at Davis should be judged.” Certainly, he influenced the teaching program of the Department and his legacy is carried forward in the teaching efforts of the Department today.

 

In 1994 Andy and his wife, SueDee, moved to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Plumas County in a quaint little hamlet called Clio. There he created a delightfully beautiful English Garden complete with winding gravel paths and a hand dug pond with a “Monet” bridge crossing over it by the waterfall and river he designed and built. It was quite a challenge to find plants to bloom from March to November at 4400 ft. altitude. This garden was revered and admired by all the residents and tourists of Clio. He and his wife took this opportunity of retirement to extensively travel ending up in the Tropics at least once each year due to Andy's profound love of the Tropics emanating from his four years in Africa. Andy also took up painting with watercolors. His paintings were very creative and displayed immense talent with an eye to detail. His subject matter included scenes in Africa and other places he had traveled to. His last five paintings were of his daughter, Alison, his son, Hugh, and his two younger daughters, Alekka and Stassi. His very last painting was of his wife, SueDee standing in a pastoral English Scene, completed the day before he died.

In November of 2003 Andy and his wife moved to the University Retirement Community in Davis which he loved, especially all the friends he made in his last year. Also, free from gardening, he spent the entire year compiling his Memoir and completing a very detailed genealogy for all his family

 

Andy is survived by his wife, SueDee, his four children, Alison, Hugh, Alekxandra and Annastassia, and his four grandchildren, Madeline, Stuart, Mauricio and Victoria. In lieu of flowers, Andy has requested that donations may be sent to Horses Unlimited. This is a non-profit organization that provides therapeutic horse riding lessons for handicapped children. Andy served on the Board of Directors for this organization from 1997 to 2003. Andy loved life and lived it to the fullest to the last day.

 

Diane Ullman

James Carey