Gustav Rene Pieper

March 28, 1927 - Feb 26, 2025

René Pieper, born 3/28/1927, departed for his last great adventure on 2/26/2025 in Jackson, NJ. He was just shy of 98 years old.

Born in Bandung, Indonesia (then still the Dutch East Indies), René spent his childhood on the island of Java, the youngest of three siblings. From an early age he loved exploring the natural world, and was never deterred by any potential risks (including nearly dying from a poisonous caterpillar he was SURE was safe!)

After Indonesia regained independence, the entire family moved to the Netherlands, where René earned a master’s degree in agriculture from Wageningen University. His studies included several months in Suriname, where his handsome features caught the eye of a local woman; she tried to capture his heart by literally capturing him in her dwelling. (Spoiler: he escaped.)

He immigrated to the US in 1957, eventually making his way to the SF Bay Area to earn his PhD in entomology (aka bugs) from UC Berkeley in the early 60s, whereupon he joined the US Forest Service as a lab scientist. He married Anne Gerstley in 1966, and although the marriage didn’t last, they remained friends for the rest of their lives. The marriage produced three children: twins Timmy and Tommy, and daughter Debbie. After retiring in 1987, René moved to rural Coquille, OR, where he made watercolor paintings, built sets for the Sawdust Theater, fished, created his own multi-varietal fruit orchard, and failed to keep deer out of his yard.

As anyone who knew René can attest, he was an adventurer at heart. He backpacked (usually alone) both locally and throughout the world, continuing to do so until he was 85. He also tried skydiving, hang-gliding, whitewater rafting, bungee jumping, and that most terrifying thing of all: public speaking (via Toastmasters). He learned to fly a private plane, donated blood regularly, ate blindingly hot peppers, hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up in a single day, and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro. The only thing he wasn’t willing to try was cheese.

René is survived by his daughter, Debbie, son-in-law Will, his two grandchildren, Nina and Jackson, and ex-wife, Anne, as well as his nieces and nephews (and descendants) in the Netherlands. He was predeceased by his parents, sister, brother, and both sons.

Memorial will be private. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating blood at your local blood bank, or making a donation in his name to the Sierra Club or any other outdoors-y organization you prefer.