John W. Pendleton

January 1, 1922-May 15, 2018

John W. Pendleton, 96, passed away at Milwaukee Catholic Home on May 15, 2018. John was born on Jan. 1, 1922, on a small “two-mule farm” in Hillsboro, Tenn., and went on to become one of the world’s leading agronomists to help feed the world.

After graduating from high school, John enrolled at the University of Tennessee, but his studies were interrupted when World War II broke out. In 1942, he volunteered for the Navy, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant. He went on to serve as a naval aviator in both the Atlantic and the Pacific. He left active service in 1946, and continued to serve in the Naval Reserve until 1954.

After the war, John returned to UT, where he received his bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1948. He met there the love of his life, Eleanor Spahr, who grew up on a dairy and tobacco farm near Bristol, Va., and they were married in 1948. John went on to receive a Master and a Ph.D. in agronomy from the University of Illinois.

Upon graduation, he accepted a faculty position with the U of I Department of Agronomy, where his research focused mostly on corn and soybeans, and new ways to increase production. In 1971 he was named Chair of the Agronomy Department at the University of Wisconsin.

In 1979-80 he served a year with the USDA in Washington, D.C., then moved into international food improvement as a scientist and deputy director at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines and as the managing deputy director the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria.

In retirement, he served on many global consultancies for agricultural projects in developing countries for USAID, FAO and IFAD, particularly in Asia and Africa and was an Emeritus Professor at U of I.

John received numerous awards. He was a Fellow of the Crop Science Society, the American Society of Agronomy, and the American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science; named Agronomist of the 1960s by the Soil Science Society in 1997; a Lifetime Research Award from the American Soybean Assoc., and a Northrup King Distinguished Scientist Award. He served as President of the American Society of Agronomy in 1978.

For his contributions to increasing rice production, South Korea awarded him the Korean Agricultural Medallion. In 2011 the U of I College of ACES gave him its Award of Merit for his contributions to agricultural research and crop production in the United States, Asia and Africa.

He took great pride in the accomplishments of the 33 graduate students he sponsored from the U.S. and abroad and to whom Eleanor and he opened their home. Leading agronomists and farmers the world over benefited from his research and teaching; and millions of people who otherwise would have known the pain of hunger did not, because of his work.

John had a life-long love of learning, and always emphasized the importance of education and hard work. He served as Deacon with University Place Christian Church in Champaign, as President of the Champaign Exchange Club and was a longtime member of the Urbana Exchange Club.

John and Eleanor enjoyed 66 years together and raised five children on a farm in Champaign County, Ill. Eleanor passed in 2014, and daughter Betsy Pendleton Wong (Kam) passed in 2015. He was preceded in death by his parents, William Witt and Jo Harley Pendleton, and his sister, Betty.

He is survived by children Don (Julie) of Marshall, Ill., Pam Thickens (Bob) of Mequon, Wis., Kip (Anne) of Woodbury, Minn., and Sandie (Terese) of Shorewood, Wis. He is also survived by 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held later at Windsor of Savoy in Savoy, Ill. For those so inclined, memorials may be made to the U of I Foundation, John W. Pendleton Crop Science Grad Student Fellowship Fund.