Born Lester Fisher on Feb. 1 1947, he later took the surname of his step-father, James G. Klungness. His education, after Catholic school and seminary, included a baccalaureate in Botany from the Univ. of Washington. After two years of Peace Corps as Youth Extension Officer in Taita, Kenya, he began a career with Weyerhaeuser Co., serving in the Wood Morphology and the Genetics Research Divisions. After five years, he returned to finish his Master’s degree in International Agricultural Development from Univ. of Cal. Davis. His thesis on honeybee digestion was published in three scientific papers. After 6 years of service in the Dept. of Pomology, he worked for the University of Hawaii for 10 yrs., performing research on fruit fly parasitoids. He then transferred to the US Dept. of Agriculture to pursue research on fruit fly suppression and management for eight years. He retired back to the Univ. of Hawaii to assist on a program to protect the honey bee industry in Hawaii from invasive species such as the vorroa mite and small hive beetle. Health issues forced him into full retirement in 2010. He had authored or co-authored 21 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and many presentations to scientific and public meetings. He developed microscopic techniques, and invented the augmentorium for disposal of infested fruit and augmentation of parasitoids. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has a son and a daughter, a step-son, one grandchild, and two step-grandchildren.
