Dr. Charles E. ‘Chuck’ Haines, Jr. (December 13, 1948 – July 9, 2024) of Lawrence, Kansas, passed away peacefully at the Olathe Health Hospice House, comforted by his devoted wife Dr. Joyce Haines and stepdaughter Deanna Laing Van Auken. Close survivors include his son-in-law Joseph Van Auken; friend Dr. Gary Minden; and countless mentees who he inspired throughout his 30-year career as a professor of biological and natural sciences at Kansas University and Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence. Other survivors include son Josh Haines and Chuck’s siblings (Sandy Howell, Diane Leckenby, Billie Howard, Janice Carmack, and Bill Haines).
Chuck’s multidisciplinary expertise ranged from scientific research in the fields of environmental toxicology, ethnobotany, and ethnopharmacology to lepidoptery, gemology, classical and contemporary fiction, art and color theory, world religions, and much more. He participated in a conference at London’s Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, contributed to college biology texts, and authored a field guide to Native American medicinal plants, numerous scientific monographs, and two short science fiction plays (‘The Green Computer’ and ‘The Seven Sisters’).
A Colorado mountain climber (Long’s Peak) and naturalist, Chuck was named ‘Environmentalist of the Year’ by the Kansas Land Trust. Whether roaming the Haskell Wetlands, gazing at the waterfalls of Cornell University campus, snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas, salmon fishing in the Bering Strait, or whale watching in Kauai, Chuck delighted in the miracles of nature, capturing its wonder through microphotography. Equally at home in the Library of Congress and small museums, Chuck was especially thrilled by Granada’s Alhambra gardens and Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum.
After earning a doctoral degree in Microbiology in 1994 under the direction of Dr. Del Shankel, Chuck’s many forms of public service included work as Coordinator of the Governor’s Task Force on AIDS in Kansas (1988), Co-Founder of Haskell’s Wetlands Preservation Organization, and Project Director for numerous federal grants — most notably a National Science Award to create Haskell’s Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Laboratory.
In addition to the field trips that he led through wetlands, buffalo wallows, science libraries, and museums, Haskell students loved Dr. Haines’ Valentine’s Day ‘Chocolate Labs’ where he taught them to grind Mayan chocolate.
A quiet, gentle, humble man with insatiable curiosity — one who hid his increasingly severe physical pains and preferred to work behind the scenes on behalf of others — Chuck leaves behind a legacy of stewardship.
To quote Vladimir Nabokov, Chuck’s spirit is ‘free at last… up the shining road, which one could make out narrowing to a thread of gold in the soft mist where hill after hill made beauty of distance, and where there was simply no saying what miracle might happen.’
A private celebration of life is planned for the Fall Equinox. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Doctors Without Borders, World Central Kitchen, World Wildlife Fund — or simply sowing seeds for a new butterfly garden.
