William Michael Giese, Jr.
CAMBRIDGE, MD - William Michael Giese, Jr. died on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 in the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Easton hospital. He had recently developed acute complications stemming from his lengthy battle with the very rare Ogilvie's syndrome.
Known to his family and many friends as Bill, he was born on December 4, 1953 to the late William M. Giese, Sr. and Clara Louise (Gootee) Giese, later Lowe. He was educated in the Dorchester County public schools. Bill grew up hunting and trapping with his father, and developed a deep love of the outdoors, which informed his lifelong work in conservation.
Bill married Elizabeth "Beth" Malkus on December 8, 1973, forming a devoted partnership that had entered its 50th year at the time of his death. They shared a love of history and nature that prompted extensive family road trips to nearly every state and many wildlife refuges, forests, parks, and other cultural attractions.
Bill began working at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge as a teenager, and it formed the center of his 40-year professional career with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS). At Blackwater, he worked in the visitor center, biological research, farming, and fire management programs, performing nearly every task imaginable in refuge management. He also served as a collateral federal law enforcement officer for 30 years. He served details for various FWS initiatives in law enforcement and fire management to many U.S. states and Puerto Rico. He was the national FWS employee of the year in 2007. He retired in 2012 but continued to volunteer at Blackwater as his health allowed.
Bill loved his family farm, which he inherited at the age of 17 upon his father's passing. It was the key site for his hunting, fishing, trapping, and gardening hobbies. Bill was an active conservation steward of his farm's soil, forestry, and water resources, as well as on the farms of his late mother-in-law Helen Malkus. Bill and Beth were the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Bay Advocate of the Year in 2006 for their work to protect critical areas in vicinity of Cambridge, MD. Among many other roles, Bill was a two-time gubernatorial appointee to the Maryland Critical Areas Commission, founding member of Dorchester Citizens for Planned Growth, longtime Maryland hunter safety instructor, 4-H leader, and at the time of his death was serving on the Dorchester County Planning and Zoning Commission and Dorchester County Soil Conservation District.
Bill is survived by his wife and three children, Michael Giese (Danielle) of Cheverly, MD, John Giese (Julie) of Reisterstown, MD, and Cheryl Tomey (Adam) of Cambridge, MD; six grandchildren; his half brother, Lloyd Gootee, Sr. (Margaret) of Easton, MD; a nephew, niece; and numerous cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents; and infant son, Philip Giese.
There was no funeral service.
Memorial donations in Bill's memory may be made to Friends of Blackwater N.W.R., Inc, P.O. Box 1231, Cambridge, MD 21613, or online via www.friendsofblackwater.org.