Professor Emeritus W.H. 'Bill' Campbell Passes Away
Wilbur H. "Bill" Campbell, a professor emeritus in the Department of Biological Sciences, died unexpectedly at home on Jan. 30.
Campbell was born in 1945 in Santa Ana, California, and earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1972. A series of postdoctoral positions in different parts of the country led to a faculty appointment in the Department of Chemistry at the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science & Technology. He met and married Ellen in 1981, and they moved to the Keweenaw in 1985, when he became the biochemistry professor at Michigan Tech.
In 1993, the couple decided to try to bring the discoveries of Campbell's academic research out into the world with new products for testing water quality. NECi, in Lake Linden, was one of the first biotech companies in Michigan. NECi's products for nitrate testing won USEPA method approval in 2017. They are made in Lake Linden and sold to customers worldwide.
Campbell's stepdaughter Lisa Carne works on coral restoration in Belize. His brother's family is settled downstate, from Detroit to Ann Arbor. His sister Jeanette Merki and family are in Kirkland, Washington.
Campbell loved trees, birds, wildlife, cats, bears and peace. The beauty of the area kept the couple here in the U.P., despite the winters.
"Neither of us care much for ceremonies, and none are planned. We want to thank the area medical community for doing their best to keep Bill as comfortable and functional as possible during the past years. Please send memorials, if desired, to area organizations engaged in preservation of natural beauty."
— Ellen R. Campbell