Everett Smith Beneke, 1918-2010

We note the passing of Dr Everett S. "Tex" Beneke, long on the faculty of Botany and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University (1948-1987), and after retirement a resident of Safety Harbor, Florida, who died in June 2010 at the age of 91. Beneke was born July 1918, graduated from Miami University (Ohio) in 1940, received his doctorate from the University of Illinois under the guidance of Lee Shanor and joined the MSU faculty in 1948. After some years of research (including significant work on Calvatia; see particularly Mycologia 55:257-270. 1963. "Calvatia, calvacin and cancer") Beneke began to emphasize medical aspects of mycology and became a world expert on human mycoses, especially Candida and candidiasis. With Alvin Rogers (his partner for more than 43 years), John Rippon and others he published the books "Medical Mycology and Human Mycoses", "Medical Mycology Manual" and "Scope Monograph on Human Mycoses", as well as numerous more focused research contributions.