9 replies to this topic

[Michael Wolfe]

Douglas “Doug” Wayne Stuber 

 

Douglas “Doug” Wayne Stuber, age 62, of Fernandina Beach passed away on Monday, November 28, 2016. Arrangements will be announced.

 

Doug Stuber, a tireless supporter and member of NANFA, tragically passed away this past Monday from a heart attack.  Doug was always upbeat and optimistic, attended many NANFA conventions, always encouraged younger members, wrote articles for American Currents, and was a general all-around great guy.  He will be greatly missed.  In lieu of flowers, if you feel so moved, you can donate to the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, PO Box 566, Fernandina Beach, FL 32035

 

[zooxanthellae]

Terrible news. I only collected with him once, but he was a genuinely nice guy, and incredibly enthusiastic.

[gerald]

He sure was; always a joy to be around and an energetic field partner.  I chatted with him at the 2014 NANFA meeting, and the last time I saw him was Fall 2015 when the Two Dougs and several other killifish wonks converged on NC to collect our various endemic Fundulus species. Would not have guessed he was 62 - he seemed younger.  We will miss him.

[Josh Blaylock]

This is very sad news.  I wanted to share a little story about Doug.

 

At the NC Convention, I was planning on riding with the 2 Dougs on our collection trips.  Doug Dame came down sick, so Doug Stuber and I rode together all day.  At this point, I don't think we knew each other, but by the end of the day, it felt like we had been close friends for years.  We talked all day, about fish and basketball (I as a Louisville fan and he as a Wichita St. Fan who played in the final four) and anything else.  I really enjoyed his company.

 

Later that day, at the convention auction there were 2 Crayfish of KY books up for auction.  During the 1st, Doug and I battled and eventually gave in and he won the book.  During the 2nd book auction, Doug started to bid against me.  I knew he already had one, so I thought he was just messing with me.  However, he continued to bid an ran me out of my price range and he won both books.  After the auction, he gave me the book.  I was really moved by his kindness and generosity.  I was so moved by this that the next year I wanted to pass that on.  At the OK Convention I outbid another NANFA member on a book, only to give that book to him.  I did this, to honor what Doug did for me.

 

I will say that he will truly be missed, and I will never forget his kindness towards me. It appears you cannot donate directly to Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch online.  You can donate to Seaturtle.org online, but I suppose we'll have to mail checks to the Amelia Island group?

[Casper]

That's a great story Josh, and a tribute to Doug's character.

I had a several experiences with Doug over the years and noted a couple recently.  Hopefully we can compile them into an American Currents account.

That is a nice picture of Doug, looks like it was taken in tropical environs.

[FishGuyJosh]

Very saddened to hear this. As a newer member of NANFA, Doug always reached out to me at any convention we both attended. More importantly, he went out of his way to make sure my wife Lauren felt comfortable and was having fun during collection trips. He even enthusiastically helped her set up her first photo of a darter in a photo tank during the Seining Challenge. He was so nice to us, asked us about our careers with great interest, and always made sure that we went out to dinner together once during every convention we attended together. It had become our little tradition, and Lauren and I were looking forward to doing it again in June.

 

For anyone who didn't speak to him about it, he was VERY passionate about the Sea Turtle Watch. So any donations to them in his name means more than you may ever know. I have made many friends since joining NANFA, and this is first of that group to pass away. Doug and his family will be in our thoughts and prayers.

[Doug_Dame]

Doug Stuber's passing is a great shock to those of us who were lucky enough to meet him.

 

I can't top Josh's story, - it's a perfect capsule of Doug's warm & generous personality. One of his special gifts was that if you spent some time with him, it felt like you'd known him for a lifetime. I was trying to recall when I first met him. It seems like our relationship goes back 20 or more years, but in reality he and his wife Darla retired to Amelia Island in 2009, so our first meeting was actually some time after that. 

 

The book auction story is great because, besides highlighting his generosity, it also touches on another of his great loves, which was books. I spent a couple of nights in his den on trips where we used his home as a jump-off point, and I'd guess he had one or two thousand books in his den, mostly hardbacks. Shelves and shelves of built-in bookcases, and then stacks on the floor. On all topics, he was apparently eclectic in his interests. I suspect that to Doug, giving a book was the ultimate expression of appreciation and sharing. 

 

Another thing that may surprise NANFAns who met Doug out in the field on a collecting expedition is that Doug didn't keep native fish. He and Darla built a super koi pond right on their patio just outside their back door, and he was active in the local koi club, but on all these expeditions where Doug was dip-netting & seining & photographing with great enthusiasm, and sharing his catch with anybody who wanted Species X, or sending fish by mail to faraway friends, he never kept any for himself. He just enjoyed the activity, seeing the fish, being with the people. 

 

One of a kind. 

 

He will be missed. 

 

OtherDoug

[Isaac Szabo]

I was very saddened to hear this. I didn't know Doug well, but in my few conversations with him he was exceedingly warm and friendly. It sounds like he treated everyone that way, something we can all aspire to. I was the one whom Josh outbidded and then gifted the book to, and I hope to repeat this act of kindness in Doug's honor at a future convention.

[Chasmodes]

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.  I never met him, but he sounds like the kind of person where a friendship with him was special based on the wonderful tributes above.

[smbass]

I too have really enjoyed having Doug at several conventions and always remember the crayfish book bidding war. He was sitting next to me while he was doing that and nudge me and said watch this with a grin... Was a great act of kindness and a lot of fun for me to sit there next to Doug and watch Josh go nuts and for me to feel like I was in on the joke! That is how I will always remember him.