It is with great sadness that I report the passing of John Heyning. John died Saturday, 17 September 2007 after a prolonged battle with ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Disease). John spent his entire professional career at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where he most recently served as Deputy Director of Research & Collections and Curator of Marine Mammals. In addition to his expertise in the evolution and natural history of whales and dolphins, John was a passionate advocate for systematic collections. He was president of the Natural Science Collections Alliance in 2002-2003. Well respected by his colleagues, John was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003. A memorial tribute celebrating the life of John Heyning will be held at 3:00 PM Saturday, 24 February 2007 at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles. In lieu of flowers, the Heyning family requests that donations in memory of John may be made to following organizations: John E. Heyning Research Expedition Fund c/o Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County ATTN: Tom Jacobson 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 ALS Association 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 150 Calabasas Hills, CA 93101 Marlene and Nico Heyning Education Fund c/o Capital Research and Management, ATTN: Paul G. Haaga, Jr., 333 S. Hope Street Los Angeles, CA 90071 *Please make checks payable to American Funds Service Company - Marlene and Nico Heyning Education Fund. Jim Dines Mammalogy Collections Manager Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 213-763-3400 tel 213-746-2999 fax jdines@nhm.org