Clement Lee Counts III, Ph.D., 74
SALISBURY - Clement Lee Counts III, Ph.D., also known as "That Clam and Snail Guy," "Dude," "Doc," and "Daddy," passed away Thursday, December 24, 2020, at Tidal Health Peninsula Regional Medical Center surrounded by loving family. He was a man who lived a life of scholarship, learning, exploration, and teaching.
Born in Huntington, W.Va. on October 3, 1946, Clem graduated from Chesapeake High School, Chesapeake, Ohio, in 1965 and briefly studied Fine Arts at Ohio University. He later attended Marshall University where he developed a lifelong passion for science. He graduated with a B.A. in zoology and a chemistry Minor, and was elected to Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, and Chi Beta Phi, the National Scientific Honorary Fraternity. Having discovered he loved college, he decided never to leave, earning his M.S. in biological sciences from Marshall University under Dr. Ralph W. Taylor, and his Ph.D. from the University of Delaware College of Marine Studies under Dr. Melbourne Carriker, who became a lifelong friend. Clem's dissertation, "Bivalves in the Genus Corbicula Mühlfeld," was awarded the College's Academic Council Award for Best Marine Biology - Biochemistry Dissertation of 1983. He went on to teach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Salisbury University until his illness forced him to retire in 2013.
During his career he held societal offices for the American Malacological Society, and performed editorial activities for The Nautilus, American Malacological Bulletin, The Southwestern Naturalist, and Herpetologica. He was director of two laboratories concerned with marine science research - the Coastal Ecology Research Laboratory of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and the Assateague Island Benthic Diversity Study Field Laboratory of Indiana University of Pennsylvania at Wallops Island, Va. He researched the systematics and biogeography of several molluscan groups at institutions around the world, including the British Museum of London and the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He authored over 40 publications in the primary scientific literature.
He was a Renaissance man in the best sense of the word. He loved to travel and explore, and visited all 50 U.S. states and many countries abroad. He was a lover of books, opera, art, and food of all kinds-from fettuccine alfredo to canned pears with cinnamon. He loved to garden, make croissants from scratch and could give you the scientific name of the spider you found in your house. He was a die-hard Blue Hen and his cries of "Beat 'Nova' still echo through Tubby Raymond Field. He was a loyal supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, and spent many Thursday nights with Troop 281. He was a Civil War fanatic, an author, an enthusiastic bridge player, an artist (he would happily relate that one of his paintings once won a prize in the Ohio State Fair), a born researcher and storyteller, a coffee connoisseur, and a lover of National Parks. He held a U.S. patent for maintenance-free enhancement of aquatic biological filters using amphipods, and had worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of everything from anatomy to zoology, would only do the New York Times crosswords in ink, and could navigate anywhere without a map. He arranged music and could play many instruments, including the tuba. If you visit the Assateague Island National Seashore Visitors' Center, you may still find a copy of the guide to shells that he wrote and illustrated.
He was a collector of all things, including accomplishments.
He was unorthodox in many ways, but he was deeply loved. He treasured his friends and family. He faced a protracted illness with grace, hope, courage, and acceptance, which inspired his family. He will be sorely missed.
Clem was preceded in death by his parents, Marguerite B. and Ellsworth Smith, his father Clement L. Counts Jr.; and his sister Christine Counts Hedger. He is survived by his son, Clement Lee Counts IV "Lee" (Renee) and their three children – Briar, Brilee, and Alton of Huntington, W.Va.; son, Nick Counts (Emily) of New Church, Va.; daughter, Maria Counts of Millsboro, Del.; sister, Marie Hankins (Jo) of Sturgis, Mich.; brother, Frank Counts of Chattanooga, Tenn.; and sister-in-law, Suzanne Counts of Gallatin, Tenn. He is also survived by his dear friend, Diane Muni Counts.
The family would like to thank the caring staff at Deer's Head Hospital Center for their extraordinary skill and compassion over the last few years.
A memorial service will be held at a later date when the pandemic has subsided. For information regarding the service or to send condolences to the family, please visit www.hollowayfh.com. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean and Environment or the Volunteers of Deer's Head Hospital Center c/o Keirsten Baker, P.O. Box 2018, 351 Deer's Head Hospital Road, Salisbury, MD 21802.