Photo by Colin Mann (from 2003 GOMT)
Kenneth Henry Mann, a husband, father, grandfather and friend, as well as a dedicated scientist, died in Halifax, on January 24 at the age of 86.
Born in Dovercourt, England to the late Henry and Mabel (Ashby) Mann, he was predeceased by a brother Eric (age 3) and is survived by sister, Margaret Needle of England. He is survived by his wife, Isabel (Ness), to whom he was married for 63 years, and also by his children, Ian (Lois), Sheila, Colin (Shelley) and grandchildren Jenna, Rebecca, Graham, Alex and Malcolm. He greatly enjoyed visits by nieces, nephews and their families from the United Kingdom.
Born August 1923, Mann spent his childhood and early schooling in Dovercourt, Essex. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the local high school. During his school years, cycling was a major hobby and he covered up to 80 miles a day riding around the countryside with friends. The Second World War began while Ken was in high school. At the age of 17 he was evacuated away from the English coast to an inland village, along with his sister and fellow students, where he finished high school.
His bicycle was his main connection with his parents and grandparents and he would regularly cycle 100 miles in a day for visits. Following high school, Ken began teacher training at St. Luke’s in Exeter. However by the spring of 1942, bombs began raining down on St. Luke’s College and the students and staff were transferred to Cheltenham.
He was then offered the opportunity to take a 6-week summer school in electronics at Exeter University and eventually was accepted into the Air Force as an officer. He served in the RAF until the end of the war when h returned to St. Luke’s, this time in the company of Isabel, who he met at a radar station during the war. They married in 1946 in Scotland. He earned a B.Sc in 1949, a Ph.D in 1953 from the University of Reading and a D.Sc, from the University of London in 1965. In 1967, Ken, Isabel, and their three children emigrated to Canada, where Ken took a position at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography.
Ken’s scientific career at both BIO and Dalhousie University spanned well over 25 years and he continued to write and publish until quite recently. He was professor and chairman of biology at Dalhousie University from 1972-80 and director of the Marine Ecology Laboratory at BIO from 1980-87. Over the years, he was a mentor to post-doctoral students, many of whom remained lifelong friends.
“I worked directly with Ken only once,” said Peter Wells, fellow scientist from Nova Scotia. “He was very kind to me as a young scientist working at the Marine Ecology Laboratory of Bedford Institute of Oceanography in the early 1980s, stopping to talk and showing interest in my research experiments on oil pollution. I helped him with marine management papers for one of his many books. His books are very well known and a real contribution to the field of marine ecology. What always impressed me about Ken was his huge ability to write such thoroughly researched syntheses of complex marine ecology topics, and his constant work ethic, being often in the Library at BIO for many years after official retirement. His dedication was an inspiration to those of us concerned about the health of marine ecosystems. “
He published more than 170 papers in scientific journals and authored or co-authored a number of books. His significant achievements in the aquatic sciences and his role as a model for students were recognized in 1994 with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.
In 2003, he was presented with the Gulf of Maine Visionary Award by the Council on the Marine Environment for his commitment and leadership as an internationally recognized marine ecologist “in recognition of his scientific research in the ecology of temperate near-shore ecosystems; his role in resource and ecosystem protection; writing scientific publications and textbooks in marine ecology and coastal management; as a distinguished professor, and a scientist emeritus at Bedford Institute of Oceanography.”
Mann wrote that his career gave him the opportunity to express, “…a sense of the wonder and beauty of living organisms and a perception that the universe embodies a great wisdom, of which we may now and then catch a glimpse in the form of some regularity, scientific generalization, or even a law.”
In 2008, he was awarded an honorary degree by Cape Breton University.
Throughout his life, he shared with Isabel his love of gardening which had been instilled in him by his father. His family shared his passion for nature with friends at their summer cottage on Cox Lake, where they spent time both summer and winter.
Ken’s love of classical music was constant with regular attendance at symphony concerts over many years. He derived great pleasure from attending his grandchildren’s school concerts, hockey games, and graduation ceremonies. He was a longstanding active member of the Gurdjieff Society of Atlantic Canada where he has many dear friends. He will be greatly missed by all friends and family.
His funeral service was held Saturday, January 30, 2010, at St. David’s Presbyterian Church in Halifax.
