GREEN TWP. — Dr. Pasquale Sferra, retired chairman of the biology department at the College of Mount St. Joseph, died May 19 of a stroke while visiting his son in Minneapolis.

        He was on a trip that included his 50th class reunion at Washington University in St. Louis, which he attended before arriving in Minneapolis. The Covedale resident was 74.

        Known as “Pat” to his friends, family and colleagues, Dr. Sferra habitually asked questions and possessed the ability to remember an astounding number of facts.

        “The scientific method was applied to many things other than science,” said his wife, Grace Sferra.

        Dr. Sferra held a Ph.D. in entomology from Rutgers University in Brunswick, N.J., and taught biological sciences at the Mount 1962-79.

        Chairman of the biology department 1973-76, he became an adviser to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Clifton in 1979 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1993.

        His enthusiasm for science rubbed off on two of his daughters, who followed in his professional footsteps. Both work in conservation.

        Dr. Sferra was also an amateur photographer whose pictures of landscapes and flowers were included in a show at the Studio San Guiseppe Art Gallery at Mount St. Joseph.

        He was born in St. Louis in 1927 and spent most of his early years in Bound Brook, N.J. After graduating from high school, he served with the Navy, then studied at Washington University, where he received a bachelor's degree.

        Before receiving a Ph.D, he got a master's degree in entomology, also from Rutgers. His first job was as assistant professor of entomology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, a position he held for six years before coming to Mount St. Joseph. Dr. Sferra was president of the Ohio College Biology Teachers Conference in 1975 and 1976.

        In addition to Grace DeCristofer Sferra, his high school sweetheart and wife of 51 years, survivors include a son, Rik, of Minneapolis; three daughters, Susan of Phoenix; Nancy of Arrowsic, Maine, and Barbara of Greensboro, N.C.; a brother, Alfred of Bound Brook, N.J.; and a sister, Frances Bean, also of Bound Brook.

        Visitation: 6 p.m. June 14 at St. Antoninus Church, 1500 Linneman Road, Covedale, followed by a memorial service at 7 p.m. Dr. Sferra's cremated remains will be buried in Bound Brook.

        Memorials: Washington University Endowment Fund, Campus Box 1210, 1 Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899; Nature Conservancy — Ohio Chapter, 6375 Riverside Drive, Suite 50, Dublin, OH 43017; or Nature Conservancy — Maine Chapter, 14 Maine St., Suite 401, Brunswick, ME 04011.

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