Taxacom: FW: Vale Stephen Thorpe

[Murray Dawson]

Stephen Thorpe will be honoured during a special livestream during the NZ Entomological Society of NZ Conference. All welcome!

Time and date (NZ): 9.30am on the 28th August 2024.
Meeting URL: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcanterbury.zoom.us%2Fj%2F91233506443%3Fpwd%3DyB7TicqdJFa0apbVSKULFb3OVyGD8C.1&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Cb7f127a49e5d464a675508dcc62aa968%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638603133735689119%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=2HI8GHQFr5I0N3VGwe%2BODInu0RSkqPUN18PBiCY5VoI%3D&reserved=0
Meeting ID: 912 3350 6443
Passcode: stephen

Also see the event post at https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fevents%2F2640980579407761&data=05%7C02%7Ctaxacom%40lists.ku.edu%7Cb7f127a49e5d464a675508dcc62aa968%7C3c176536afe643f5b96636feabbe3c1a%7C0%7C0%7C638603133735844926%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=e19ihpTdxzVeQLSFRG%2FDrwkoCFDAWG2Fr%2BRB3l40pgQ%3D&reserved=0

-----Original Message-----
From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> On Behalf Of Dan Bickel via Taxacom
Sent: Tuesday, August 27, 2024 10:15 AM
To: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
Subject: Taxacom: FW: Vale Stephen Thorpe


This is a real shock.  When I first met Stephen many years ago, he was sorting undetermined collections at the NZAC.  Although his real interest was Coleoptera,  he knew the New Zealand Diptera in depth and was able to discuss taxonomic aspects of my speciality, Dolichopodidae. And he took me at night to see individuals of an Achalcus species that were hanging off silken spider threads in an Auckland bushland reserve.  He observed much and with insight.

Unfortunately, as was mentioned,  he was bordering on autistic and he always spoke his mind directly (and he was usually right - sharp, concise and tenacious, as readers might recall from past discussions here).  But this "lack of tact" made it difficult for him to obtain a permanent position, despite his extraordinary knowledge of the New Zealand insect fauna.

He continued his investigations on iNaturalist, with a prodigious output and he would occasionally send me photos to ID, often of undescribed species.

His death is a major loss to the taxonomic community of New Zealand and to this site in particular.

Daniel J. Bickel
Entomology
Australian Museum 1 William Street Sydney NSW 2010 Australia [Associate Editor, Zootaxa - Diptera Phoroidea & Tephritoidea]


-----Original Message-----
From: Taxacom <taxacom-bounces at lists.ku.edu> On Behalf Of Geoff Read via Taxacom
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2024 9:44 AM
To: taxacom at lists.ku.edu
Subject: Taxacom: Vale Stephen Thorpe

Dear all,
It is with great sadness that today I inform you that Stephen Thorpe has died (a homicide) in Auckland, New Zealand.Stephen was a unique person who greatly enriched Taxacom with his lively contributions, depth of knowledge, and tenacious advance of strong opinions.He was also incredibly dedicated to entomology and to working on online platforms like Wikipedia and iNaturalist.
We know because he told us so that he was bordering on autistic, and we have seen over the years how this affected his success in his professional working life.He kept doing the work he loved nevertheless. The news story paints a picture of his daily life in recent times.
We will much miss Stephen's contributions to our list.  Goodbye Stephen.
You were always good value to argue with.

Geoff Read
--
Geoffrey B. Read, Ph.D.
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
gread at actrix.gen.nz

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Nurturing nuance while assailing ambiguity for about 37 years, 1987-2024.


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