Georg Treichel
1931-Dec. 14, 2008
Portola Valley, California

Georg Treichel, a longtime Portola Valley resident, was held Dec. 14 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. He died Sept. 22 at age 77 following an accident.

Despite a lifelong struggle with polio, he traveled to 138 countries, including most of the countries in Africa, family members said.

At the time of his death Mr. Treichel was professor emeritus of geography and environmental studies at San Francisco State University.

From 1964 to 1966, Mr. Treichel produced for KQED-TV a series of ecologically oriented resource and conservation programs, entitled "The Nature of Conservation."

Born in Wisconsin, Mr. Treichel studied at the University of Wisconsin before moving to attend UC Berkeley. His studies were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army, where he served in intelligence at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

In 1955 he married Jeanie Nieri, and, receiving a grant to study natural resource and environmental problems in Africa for the Conservation Foundation, he set off on a expedition to Africa that included field work in 77 national parks and reserves.

Mr. Treichel became the staff ecologist for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and National Resources in Switzerland, Kenya, and Tanganyika, where he helped establish the International Commission on National Parks and the World Wildlife Fund. He also did field work in Latin America, the Caribbean islands, the USSR, India, Malaysia and other countries.

He led many San Francisco State University travel-study field trips in California, the West and the Pacific, specializing in rail field trips. He received many outstanding lecturer awards from organizations, including the Commonwealth Club of California, San Diego Zoo, and the Pacific Area Travel Association.

Mr. Treichel served on the boards and advisory committees of 13 environmental organizations, including the California Commission on Marine and Coast Resources, the Committee for Green Foothills, Save San Francisco Bay Association, Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Zero Population Growth, and the San Francisco Zoological Society.

He had many serious interests including music, travel, bird watching and opera, say family members. They recall that he often said, "I don't know of anyone who had a better life than me."

Surviving Mr. Treichel are his wife, Jeanie Nieri Treichel of Portola Valley; and his son, Carl Treichel.

Tags: teacher/educator