John G. Moseman, International Agricultural Research Scientist, dies at 84

John G. Moseman, former research scientist and administrator with the United States Department of Agriculture at Beltsville, Maryland, died of lung cancer on Monday, July 24, 2006, in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  He was 84 years old.

Dr. Moseman was a leader in the understanding of host-pathogen relationships in Barley; in his 40 plus years of service with the USDA, he was the author of over 100 research papers and was keynote speaker at many international cereal crops conferences.  His most important areas of study were powdery mildew and leaf rust.  Using traditional plant breeding techniques and quantitative methodologies, he pioneered ways to breed new strains of barley that proved resistant to these diseases.

In addition to his own studies, Dr. Moseman also supervised many international research projects and traveled extensively.  During the late 1960’s, he coordinated two similar research projects, one with an Israeli scientist and one with an Egyptian.  Serving as a link between these two scientists, Moseman organized a meeting for the two at the US embassy in Madrid, allowing them to share data that lead to the development of drought resistant strains of barley, benefiting many nations.

In another instance of fostering international cooperation during the 60’s, Moseman arranged for plant material and genetic information to be transferred to scientists in the then Soviet Union via a fellow scientist in Canada, thereby avoiding diplomatic barriers.

In 1972, during a reorganization of the USDA, Moseman was promoted to the position of Chairman, Plant Genetics and Germplasm Institute, U. S. Department of Agriculture, ARS-North Central Region, Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland.  He retired from this position in 1986.

John Gustav Moseman was born in Oakland, Nebraska on December 7, 1921.  He was the fifth son of John Gerhardt and Bertha Hopp Moseman.  Growing up on a farm in the depression, he graduated from Oakland High School at the age of 16 in 1937.  After High School, John spent a year working with his father and older brother developing hybrid seed corn.  The seed had to be stripped from each cob and carefully sorted by hand.  “Moseman and Sons Iowa 139 Seed Corn” was the first certified hybrid seed corn sold in Nebraska.

Moseman received his B.S from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in January 1943 after 3 1/2 years and immediately entered the Army Air Corp.  During his military service, he was trained as a Meteorologist at New York University.  He served as a weather forecaster for a B-29 squadron based in Fairmont, Nebraska and later served overseas being stationed in Puerto Rico and Guam.

After discharge in 1947, he took advantage of the GI bill and, in a matter of 48 months, received his M.S. in Plant Genetics at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington and his PhD in Plant Pathology from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.  It was during his time at Pullman that John met Marjorie Jean Bell who was also getting her M.S.  They were married on May 31, 1948.

He joined the faculty at North Carolina State University in 1950 on a joint appointment with the USDA research station in Raleigh.  In 1954, he was transferred to the Agricultural Research Center at Beltsville, Maryland where he served as a bench scientist before moving up to be the Leader of Barley Investigations and finally the Chairman of the Plant Genetics and Germplasm Institute.

Living in Adelphi and Silver Spring, Maryland in the 1960’s and 70’s, he served the community as President of the PTA, Chairman of the local Boy Scout Troop and with Meals on Wheels.  Having been a high school athlete, lettering in both football and basketball, John was an avid supporter of the University of Maryland athletic programs as a member of the Terrapin Club.

An active member of the University United Methodist Church in College Park, Maryland, he served as a Sunday school teacher, church trustee and on the Council of Ministries.  At the time of his death at the Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, Maryland, he was a member of the Grace Methodist Church.

Dr. Moseman was a Fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Phytopathological Society.  He belonged to the Honor Society Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Xi, the scientific research society.  Listed in the World Who’s Who in Science, Dr. Moseman received a Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding contributions to American Agriculture (Host-Pathogen Interactions in Diseases of Barley) from the USDA, and a Certificate of Appreciation for Promotion of International Research from the Agricultural Research Organization of Israel.  After his retirement from the USDA, he served as the President of the Friends of Agricultural Research at Beltsville, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the research, educational, and outreach programs at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center.

Survivors include his wife, Marjorie of Gaithersburg, Maryland; brother, Dr. Albert H. Moseman of Largo, Florida; son, Dr. David R. Moseman of St. Paul, Minnesota; daughter, Rev. Barbara Smith of Nevada City, California; and son, Tom Moseman, of Equinunk, Pennsylvania.

MEMORIAL SERVICE: Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg on Wednesday, August 2, 2006.

GRAVESIDE SERVICE:  Monday, October 23, 2006, 11a.m. at the Oakland Cemetery

The family has requested that donations be made to the Friends of Agricultural Research at Beltsville or the Montgomery County Stroke Association in lieu of flowers.

Pelan Funeral Services Oakland in charge of local arrangements.