Alan James Herr

The world said a sad goodbye to Dr. Alan James Herr, of Edmonds, WA, on June 2, 2021. Alan was a loving husband, father, son, brother, and uncle, as well as an outstanding colleague and faithful friend to many. Although his life of fifty years seems short to those he leaves behind, his impact is profound, with significant contributions to the scientific world and a legacy of love and faith for all who knew him. Born on Father’s Day, June 21st, 1970 in Boise, ID to Dr. Rodney and Mrs. Marcia Herr, Alan was the youngest of five children – three girls and two boys. As a child, Alan did his best to keep up with his older siblings. In short time, he was able to hold his own inside the house, engaging in rousing family conversations around the kitchen table, and outside, during episodes of chase and horseplay with his big brother. Marcia’s welcoming spirit attracted a constant flow of young people through the family home. This gave Alan the opportunity to hang out with his siblings’ friends, honing his basketball shot and feeling the joy of being included with the big kids. Rodney, a cardio-vascular surgeon, originated the heart program at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise. Despite his demanding work schedule, he was able to accumulate land around Letha and Sweet, ID and the family soon ventured into cattle ranching. The family ranch provided an environment for the Herr children to learn the value of hard work, to grow their sense of nurture as they cared for the animals, and to appreciate the great beauty of the Idaho landscape. Alan’s fondest childhood memories with his siblings took place on or around the ranch, over weekends and while living there for summer employment. Long days of hard work were often followed by the siblings joining together for a delectable meal of steak and nachos. For fun, they fished for carp and bass together, and hunted for pheasants. Above all else, they cherished the times they joined their father on horse packing trips in the Idaho wilderness. In high school, Alan took a keen interest in showing the ranch’s purebred Limousin cattle and was a regular youthful presence at county fairs. Alan was an outstanding athlete, having moved from basketball to running, his true passion, during his time at Boise High School. He formed deep and lasting friendships with his cross country and track teammates and coach. This group of young men, bound together by their mutual love of running, remained a strong support for Alan for his entire lifetime. Most of them still live in the Boise area; they famously road-tripped the 500+ miles together in Alan’s final days, so they could have one last ten-minute visit with their beloved teammate. Alan was shaped by his Christian faith from an early age. He had a beautiful, resonant singing voice and was always deeply moved by music that pulled him in to worship. As a young boy, he would often be caught with headphones attaching him to the family’s stereo system, belting out his favorite Keith Green songs. Eventually, he taught himself to play guitar, expanding his ability to share rich, spiritual experiences through music. Alan enjoyed friendship and growth at Cole Community Church during his middle school and high school years. His youth group leaders were charmed by this intellectually earnest and spiritually curious young man, while in them, Alan found mentorship, companionship, and some awesome fishing trips. Alan attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, where he earned a B.S. degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. During his first year, while living on campus, he met Karen Bennett of Shoreline, WA and the two quickly became close. A mutual acquaintance of theirs, who would later become Alan’s roommate and dear friend, formed a prayer group which they both attended. Being the only two members of the group who resided on lower campus, Alan and Karen looked forward to their regular trek together to the meeting on upper campus, and quickly found other excuses to bump into each other during the week. After a couple years of varying degrees of “special friendship,” which was always something of a mysterious term to Alan, the two officially started dating and became engaged a few months after they both graduated in 1992. During his time at PLU, Alan’s love of science grew and he began to feel conflict between his Christian world view and his respect for scientific principles. After much soul-searching, he arrived at the conclusion that science and faith were not incompatible. For Alan, the intricacy and elegance of nature, including the ability of life to evolve over time, added credence to the idea of a master designer who fashioned the world with some measure of wildness. And where science and faith seemed at odds, Alan rested in his personal experience of a compassionate, gracious God, seen most clearly in the person of Jesus. Alan continued to compete in track and cross country while at PLU. His signature track event was the Steeple Chase, winning second place at the NAIA Division II Nationals his sophomore year. At PLU, he was named both All-American Athlete and George Fisher Scholar-Athlete, and he served as team captain his senior year. Regarding his passion for running, Alan would often recite the quote from Eric Liddell, of Chariots of Fire fame: “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Alan lived for two years off campus with a group friends, who were more like brothers, in a house they called “The Rock.” The guys shared conversations about faith over meals together, often with Alan whipping up a ham or some Idaho beef for the occasion. They joined with more friends one summer for a memorable week-long backpacking trip in the Canadian wilderness above Malibu Young Life Camp. Upon graduation, Alan moved to Seattle, finding employment as a research technician with Dr. Larry Loeb in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington. Alan and Karen married a year later on June 6, 1993 at First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach. Soon after, they moved to Salt Lake City, UT where they began graduate school at the University of Utah in their respective fields. Through the Department of Human Genetics, Alan earned his Ph.D., studying protein translation and gene hopping in the lab of Dr. Ray Gesteland and Dr. John Atkins, both of whom Alan considered life-long mentors. During this time, besides exciting research opportunities, Alan enjoyed frequent gatherings at the home of Ray and his wife Harriett, lasting friendships with his colleagues in the lab, as well as inclusion in the various practical jokes and playful antics that characterized his work place. It was time of good science and good fun. While living in Salt Lake City, Alan and Karen purchased and renovated their first home, a small two-bedroom condo, near downtown. They were active members at Zion Lutheran Church, where they served as youth group leaders. They enjoyed hiking and camping together in the rugged splendor of southern Utah, and Alan managed to work in some skiing at the local resorts with family and friends. Karen, a ballet dancer, was invited to dance professionally in Denver after she completed her degree, so the couple lived apart, intermittently, for three of Alan’s six graduate school years. Although both Alan and Karen were able to delve into their fields with greater focus, this time of living apart was challenging, and made coming together for their next life chapter all the sweeter. After Alan’s thesis defense, the couple moved together to Norwich, England in March, 2000, where Alan began his post-doctoral work under Sir David Baulcombe, a pioneer in RNA silencing, in the Sainsbury Laboratory at the John Innes Centre. Having moved to plant systems, Alan delighted in this new line of research, and most notably, his discovery of RNA Pol IV, a plant-specific RNA polymerase that plays a key role in gene silencing in the nucleus. David and his wife Rose were the first to extend true English hospitality to Alan and Karen, by having them over to their lovely home for a meal and tour of their garden the evening after Alan’s job interview. Alan always remembered that night as the start of his love for a good cup of coffee. Two months after moving to Norwich, Karen gave birth to Frances ‘Fran’, their first of three daughters. Thus began Alan and Karen’s greatest adventure of all: parenting. A second daughter, Amelia ‘Mia’, appeared on the scene almost exactly two years later. Alan and Karen described their five and a half years in the U.K., living in their two-story terrace house, as their “fairy tale years.” They took great joy in raising their young daughters in the quaintness of English culture, while forming friendships with Alan’s international crew of colleagues, with local young parents, and with families from their dear church, Holy Trinity. Residing in Norwich, situated just a few miles from seaside adventure on the North Norfolk Coast, and a mere puddle jump from the charms of Europe, offered the family a truly magical experience in these early years. After Alan’s post-doctoral work came to a close, the couple moved to the Seattle area in September, 2005 with their two daughters, so that they could be near extended family. This leap over the Atlantic all the way to the Pacific Northwest was also a leap of faith, as Alan did not have a position lined up and Karen was expecting their third child. Karen’s sister, brother-in-law and their family graciously provided accommodations in their home while Alan set about the task of finding a job. He eventually accepted a Senior Fellow position in the Department of Pathology at the University of Washington, in the lab of Dr. Brad Preston. Brad had also worked with Larry Loeb many years previously, and had also been at the University of Utah when Alan was pursuing his Ph.D. In his new setting, using yeast as a model system, Alan studied the effects of genetic instability on cancer and aging. Once again, his scientific pursuits were bolstered by the deep friendships and sense of community he found in the lab. In February, 2006, Brad and his wife, Diana, were among the first visitors to greet Alan and Karen’s third daughter, Elsa, as a newborn in the hospital. Having purchased their Edmonds “fixer” home, Alan now juggled his scientific endeavors with a massive remodeling adventure. Gleaning valuable guidance and assistance from his brother-in-law, Alan stripped the home down to the studs and built it back up again, learning wiring and plumbing skills as he went and using mostly reclaimed materials. Alan and Karen spent many late nights laying tile and hanging kitchen cabinets, and felt deeply grateful for the many friends who also joined in the fun. Eventually, Alan added garden beds outside, which offered ongoing vegetable delights for the family, as well as for the local rabbit population. Alan, ever the doting husband and father, loved participating in the various activities of his “girls” as they grew older. Over the years, he had become quite the dance aficionado, with insightful feedback and encouragement for Karen’s performing and choreographic pursuits. Fran, Mia and Elsa could always count on their dad’s enthusiastic presence at special events and performances, in addition to his faith-filled guidance, and his trademark scientific lectures. Of Alan’s many endearing qualities, his silly, comic side was the girls’ favorite. Their childhood was graced with bedtime stories featuring his highly developed character voices. These were often followed by playful, elaborate skits involving stuffed animals who desperately pleaded with the children to go to bed. In addition to many short trips and regular visits to see the Herr clan in Idaho, the family enjoyed two separate vacations exploring the National Parks in Southern Utah, and an epic excursion back to England, along with a puddle jump to Paris, to revisit their “fairy tale years.” With gifts of wisdom, teaching and hospitality, it is no surprise that Alan was an integral part of his church communities throughout his life. At First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach, where he and Karen were active members, Alan joined together a cadre of men that met regularly for many years, calling themselves “Carhartts for Christ.” Members were encouraged to come just as they were, without needing to get cleaned up or look like they had it all together. The group provided valuable companionship to these men at critical times, walking several of them all the way through their end-of-life journeys. In 2008, Alan secured funding to run his own lab at the University of Washington as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology. Alan valued the mentorship from his once-employer and now colleague, Larry Loeb, during this time. Over the years, Alan brought on a talented graduate student and a crew of capable undergraduates and volunteer researchers to help expand his research. The lab was flanked by other vibrant labs, run by researchers whom he called not only colleagues, but friends. Alan’s lab, powered by his love, dedication, and a steady flow of French-pressed coffee, continued to explore important questions around the effects of mutagenesis on cancer and aging, while offering its research team a place of friendship, guidance and growth. Alan’s cancer journey began in 2013 when he was diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer. Alan always felt deeply grateful for the support and love he received from his dear oncologist and care team at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. He never felt bitter about his diagnosis and eight-year cancer journey; he accepted these courageously. As a scientist, he understood that the very mechanisms that bring about and maintain life also mean that sometimes cells mutate and can become cancerous. And as a Christian, he believed that his cancer journey, although difficult, would expand his understanding of a God who had tenderly made him and equipped him for this challenge. He rested in the promise that God, in Jesus, would walk with him even in the darkest of times, sharing in his suffering, and promising him life eternal. Alan was surrounded by his wife and daughters on the eve of his passing, as he inhaled for the last time on earth, and exhaled for the first time in heaven. Fittingly, the girls were reading him a bedtime story – The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, as he passed “further up and further in.” Alan’s life story is marked by generosity and mentorship from others - beginning with his parents and his siblings, and echoed in the many personal, pastoral, professional and health care relationships he enjoyed throughout his life. The tender love that poured in to him flowed freely from him and into his many spheres of contact. The world will not be the same without Alan Herr, but the world is a better place for him having been in it. In order to honor Alan’s spirit of mentorship and his loving contribution to the world of science, the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology has created an undergraduate research fellowship in his name. Please see https://online.gifts.washington.edu/peer2peer/Campaign/herr for details. Please also consider Imani Milele Lusaka School or First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach for memorial giving. Alan is survived by his wife, Karen, and their three daughters, Frances, Amelia, and Elsa. He is also survived by his parents, Dr. Rodney and Mrs. Marcia Herr, and his siblings Susan (Paul) Metcalf, Barbara (Jon) Ballantyne, Eric (Christina) Herr, and Allison (Scott) Schaefer, along with many other beloved extended family members. A memorial service to celebrate Alan’s life will be held at First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach on Saturday, July 10th, 2021 at 2 pm PST. Livestream will be available on the day of service at (19) First Lutheran Richmond Beach - YouTube.