| Author | Message | ||
     Tony Davies (td) Moderator Username: td Post Number: 270 Registered: 1-2001 |
I met John at Chambersburg-1in 1982 so I had the privilege of knowing him for almost 30 years! John was always very intense, whatever was being discussed but he had many facets which made him so interesting and unforgettable. I saw John at meetings around the world and always enjoyed and learned from his lectures and greatly enjoyed spending time with him and Gloria. I greatly valued his friendship and encouragement. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten by all who met him. John is not easily forgotten! | ||
| Pierre Dardenne (dardenne) Senior Member Username: dardenne Post Number: 67 Registered: 3-2002 |
Dear All, If you want to send your condolences and leave a message to the family, you can access http://www.kochfuneralhome.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1262723&fh_id=12859 Thanks for them, Pierre | ||
| Karl Norris (knnirs) Senior Member Username: knnirs Post Number: 60 Registered: 8-2009 |
To the many who have been associated with John, I join them in our great loss.I first met John after he called me about 40 years ago and asked me if I had any experience using NIR to measure forages. My answer was no and since it was not a direct human food source I did not have a great interest, because my research was directed to human foods, and I did not have the sources for animal feeds. John asked if I would work with him if he could convince my boss that this was important. John could be very convincing, and I soon had authorization to measure the NIR spectra of forages. John was part of a forage network which had collected samples from many parts of the U.S., and had chemical analyses on the samples from several different laboratories. These were close to the ideal samples for NIR testing, and I ran reflection spectra on his samples, and did a simple regression analysis. I was not particularly impressed with the data, but John and his co-workers were very excited and convinced me to be the senior author on a joint paper. Many of you know that I don't enjoy writing, but I agreed if they would do most of the work. John insisted that his name be the last on the list but he was the driving force. I have enjoyed the privilege of working with John then and ever since those early days. He will be missed but never forgotten. Karl | ||
| Daniel Alomar (dalomar) Member Username: dalomar Post Number: 11 Registered: 2-2009 |
Dear all, My first incursion on the NIRS matter, in 1994, was attending a seminar in C�rdoba, Spain, hosted by Ana Garrido. And one of the main instructors was John Shenk. Being absolutely new to spectroscopy in general and NIRS in particular, everything looked so complicated (sometimes still does!). I remember sitting at the rear of the room trying to grasp all the details, and suddenly Dr. Shenk remarks something like: �� and I see Daniel frowning down there��. And later, encouraging me and saying �It�s easy�!!�. Since then I�ve come a reasonable long way and met a number of great people in the NIRS community, but I`ll never forget those remarks� Thank you, John Shenk! | ||
| Fernando Morgado (fmorgado) Senior Member Username: fmorgado Post Number: 29 Registered: 12-2005 |
Dear Friens : I am new in NIR, only 15 years. When I start in this in all the paper I read appear Dr Shenk name. In the begining only was a name for me. With the time me feeling was..... �Dr shenk is the better� . Only I talk with Dr Shenk one time, was one of the better experience in my life. Two weeks ago my father died too, but he continue living in me, genes of Dr Shenk continue with us, stay in other body, but continue here. Dr Shenk, thanks for all the time dedicate to teach a young people as me, always you will be my teacher. Fernando Morgado Chile | ||
| venkatarman (venkynir) Senior Member Username: venkynir Post Number: 140 Registered: 3-2004 |
Dear Peter; Very Sad week end for us. First I meet him at Japan .He enquired about our(INDIA) R&D work in NIRS and keen to know about application area. Later I meet him at ICNIRS Thailand and we discussed about the growth of NIRS in India .He was very happy and asked us work more in application area with strong computational knowldge and IT. I do agree family lost affectionate brother . | ||
| Pierre Dardenne (dardenne) Senior Member Username: dardenne Post Number: 66 Registered: 3-2002 |
Dear Friends and Colleagues, Some of you may already be aware of that, sadly, John Shenk has passed away suddenly. He was undergoing a fairly minor operation Thursday 15 of September and during the recovery process suffered a major heart attack, from which he could not be revived. We know that, as well as his immediate family, the whole international NIR community, many of whom John regarded as his own extended family, will be devastated by this news. Of course it is too soon for adequate eulogies, but John has been a very special person in all our lives - some of us for a very long time. He has been our teacher, preacher, mentor and friend. He has alternately delighted us, charmed us, irritated us, frustrated us - but above all, inspired us. John was a unique human being - he will stand out in NIR history like a beacon. As usual, he was working right up to the end, full of new ideas, impatient for action. As he said only a short time ago - "we are not quite done yet". Well, to quote John's favourite book, the Bible, he, like the apostle Paul, can truly say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". In fact, in his own way, John was an apostle himself. For him, NIR was much more than a career or a business. NIR was his mission. We believe that, had it not been for John Shenk, NIR would never have been adopted so widely in agriculture and food applications across the world. John did not invent NIR, but he made it work like no other. It is common to say that no-one is irreplaceable. In our view, John is as irreplaceable as it is possible to be. His passing is a huge loss to the science of NIR, but a far deeper personal loss. We are sure much more will be said in the days to come. Meanwhile, we are sure you will all join with us in expressing our deepest sympathy to Gloria and all the family. We know their deep Christian faith will sustain them in this sad time, but we hope that as many members of the "NIR family" as possible will rally around the Shenks and give them all a big hug - whether personally or in spirit. John will never, and must never, be forgotten. His contribution to the NIR world is incomparable. Kind regards to all Peter Flinn, Immediate Past Chairman, ICNIRS & Pierre Dardenne, ICNIRS Chairman John at IDRC2006 receiving an award  |