James Lowell Dale, 88, of Fayetteville, Ark., died Sunday, November 13, 2011.  A memorial service held at Fairview Memorial Gardens in Fayetteville, Ark., with Reverend Lewis Chesser officiating.

Mr. Dale was born December 1, 1922, in Olney, the son of Maurice Campbell and Augusta Stone Dale.

He was a World War II veteran, having served in the 64th and 96th Naval Construction Battalions with duty in Newfoundland, Samar in the Philippines and Tsingtao in north mainland China. He received a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in plant pathology from University of Illinois. He was a pathologist in the Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Agriculture at University of Arkansas for 32 years. In 1967, he served as a consultant for USAID and University of Illinois on a project designed to initiate the growing of soybeans in India. In 1973, he was a NATO Senior Fellow to France, where he consulted with other scientists working with newly discovered phytoplasma-induced plant diseases. At University of Arkansas he taught the beginning plant pathology course for many years and also an advanced course on bacterial and phytoplasma diseases. His research was concerned with the diseases of corn, sorghum and turf, and diseases caused by phytoplasma. He retired as Professor Emeritus in 1988.   

Mr. Dale is survived by a son, James L. Dale Jr., of Conway, Ark.; two granddaughters, Danielle Dale, of New Orleans, La., and Megan Dale, of Fayetteville, Ark.; and a sister, Sally Dale Hunt, of Olney. He is also survived by one nephew and two nieces.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Martha Williams Dale, and a brother, William Dale.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL) - November 14, 2011