Share Your Memory

I cannot even remember how many years I'd already known Jelle prior to my own coming to BU from The New England Aquarium. We got to know each other a little better when I got roped into helping BU plan a new aquarium facility, partly to house Jelle's smelly catfish. By smelly I mean that he kept them due to their dependence upon olfaction as a major part of their lives. It was a major part of Jelle's life, also. Through his agency and that of our mutual colleague Rudi Strickler, I wound up teaching part time in the BUMP program in 1989. This gradually evolved into a job offer engineered largely by Jelle and our colleague Richard Primack that resulted in my swimming from Central Wharf to the MBL-Comm Ave commute in September of 1994. I covered what had been Jelle's Boston beat (teaching intro Marine BIology), freeing…

In Autumn of 69 or spring of 70, Paul Fye hosted a reception at Meteor House to welcome WHOI’s new hires.  I was one, as was Jelle, and I was thrilled to meet him and Hilde there, given that they played flute and violin, respectively.  I was equally delighted to see Peter and Marie Rhines, whom I had already known, and who played guitar and violin.  Things were looking up musically.  However, as neophyte scientists, we three were much too busy for serious musicmaking during that first decade of work in Woods Hole and not much came of it.

My fondest memories of Jelle came in the 80s and 90s, in three varieties.  First were the dinners at #10, just the two of us, talking about far reaching and personal topics too numerous to recount.  Second were our interactions about BUMP’s internal workings, a favorite topic for us both.  Third,…

On Saturday, September 21, we celebrated the life of our colleague Jelle Atema, with his family, friends, former students, and members of the BU community in attendance, including Ian Davison, Rudi Strickler (a former BUMP faculty member), and the two of us. The event was held at his comfortable home just a short walk from the Woods Hole town center, which provided an ideal setting for informal conversations about Jelle.    

While many of us in the BU Biology Department experienced Jelle as a marine biologist with a world-famous program in lobster sensory biology, at the memorial he was instead celebrated for his family and love of music.

During the memorial, four of his six children shared memories of Jelle’s strong influence as a father, a scientist, and a musician. His partner, Meg, described how after retirement, Jelle shared his love of music by participating in concerts and hosting musical events…

Dear family and friends of Jelle,

My sincere condolences on the loss of your husband, father and friend and colleague.

Jelle was a classmate of mine and I received the news of his death from Koos, another classmate. In 2018 we had a reunion in Utrecht with our biology year. Jelle seemed so healthy and bright as if he would live to be 100 years old. I have fond memories of him. I took photos of this reunion and I am placing them in the photogalley.

Kind regards,

Truus Stevens