William John Haugen Light

William John Haugen Light, M.A., Ph.D., age 82, died on Saturday, January 18, 2020, in Marietta, GA. William was born January 5, 1938, and at age 6 months was the chosen child of Marion Sargent and Colonel Orin D. Haugen. Colonel Haugen died of wounds sustained in the Pacific during WWII, and when his mother remarried, William received the surname Light. William attended high school in La Jolla, California. After spending time playing flamenco guitar professionally in Mexico, he entered the Army and served from 1962-1964. He was honorably discharged after receiving the Good Conduct Medal, and Sharpshooter Badges for Rifle and Carbine. William then received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from San Francisco State University. He went on to earn a Master of Arts in Biology at San Francisco State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in General Biology and Geosciences from the University of Arizona, Tucson. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Environmental Toxicology and Limnology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. William held numerous academic and research positions throughout his varied scientific career, including for the California Academy of Sciences, the US Army Corps of Engineers, The Oakland Museum, University of Arizona, University of Wisconsin at Madison, University of Colorado, The Colorado Springs School, Shasta Community College, Southern Nevada Community College, Gwinnett Technical College, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. William is the author of six published scientific textbooks, including an internationally acclaimed polychaete identification manual, a four-volume series on the biomedical complications of alcohol abuse and a textbook on mushrooms of the Georgia Piedmont and Southern Appalachians. He also authored numerous research papers in professional journals, and popular articles about science in national magazines. William had a deep and enduring love for the natural world, as well as for art and music, all of which he has passed on to his children. He is survived by his two daughters, Deborah Ilana Light and Carolyn Andrea Light.