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Chester Lamar Meek
(1944 - 2002):
1989 Hathaway-Ritter Distinguished Achievement Award
 Dr.
Meek's contributions to mosquito control and research in Louisiana were
many. The real joy of being one of Lamar's colleagues or students was
to know him as a person who had a genuine concern and care for others.
He was outgoing, a great conversationalist who could encourage talk from
people of widely varying viewpoints. He loved a good joke and usually
responded with a big, infectious laugh. He emphasized the
accomplishments of his nine M.S. and seven PhD students and frequently
became their dear friend as well as their mentor.
Lamar, as he
was known to his loved ones, colleagues, and friends, was born on January
16, 1944, in Monticello, Arkansas, and attended schools in nearby Arkansas
City and McGhee. He earned a B.S. in biology at Ouachita Baptist
University in 1966 and was commissioned a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army
Medical Service Corps. After two years of military service, he worked
toward an M.S. in entomology at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville)
under the supervision of J. L. Lancaster and guidance of Max Meisch.
In addition to his thesis research on the effects of riceland pesticides on
aquatic arthropods, Lamar supervised a pilot mosquito control program under
the guidance of J. K. Olson at Texas A&M University, where he researched
ovipositional behavior of mosquitoes. Lamar received his Ph. D at
Texas A&M University in 1975.
That same year, Lamar accepted a
position as assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at the
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, where he quickly rose
through the ranks to full professor in 1983. His initial
responsibility was in tabanid research, but in 1978, his emphasis switched
to mosquitoes. During his career, he authored or co-authored more than
125 papers and book chapters about various aspects of medical entomology
including biology, ecology, sampling, identification, chemical and
biological control and resistance to insecticides.
A strength of his program was Lamar's ability to interact with other
mosquito specialists. He cooperated with mosquito researchers in
Arkansas, Mississippi, California and Illinois, and he constantly assisted
personnel in mosquito control districts in Louisiana and neighboring states.
He also collaborated at the Tulane Regional Primate Research Center on host
compatibility to malaria.
Over the last decade, Lamar became a
pioneer in forensic entomology while continuing his mosquito research.
He eventually published more than 20 papers and a book chapter about
necrophilous arthropods in relation to investigations of homicides and
deaths of high-profile wildlife. Interaction with various agencies
again was a strength of his forensics program. he testified in more
than ten criminal trials, including the case upon which the film Dead Man
Walking was based. He initiated a popular course at LSU in forensic
entomology in addition to teaching his class in medical and veterinary
entomology.
Lamar received numerous awards and honors such as the
American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) Meritorious Service Award, the
outstanding Service Award in Medical/Veterinary Entomology of the American
Registry of Professional Entomologists and the Memorial Lectureship Award of
the AMCA. He served on the Governing Board of the Entomology Society
of America, on the Board of Directors of the LMCA, as Treasurer of AMCA and
as the past President of both the LMCA and the Louisiana Entomology Society.
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