Earlier this year, at the age of 85, Major Jacob Brodzinsky passed away at his home in Santo Domingo. It is with great sadness that I write this obituary, because  Jake  was a great personal friend and professional colleague for over 30 years. He leaves a wife, Marianela (Mañeña) Lopez-Penha, whom he married on April 26,1964, and two lovely daughters, Sibylla and Raquel

Woodruff, Robert E.

English

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Insecta Mundi Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida 
12-1-2002 
Obituary: Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17, 1918 - February 25, 
2003) 
Robert E. Woodruff 
Florida state Collection of Arthropods, Bureau of Entomology, Division of Plant Industry, Florida 
Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, BobsGems@aol.com 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Woodruff, Robert E., "Obituary: Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17, 1918 - February 25, 2003)" (2002). Insecta 
Mundi. 561. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/561 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida 
at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Insecta Mundi by an 
authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 16, No. 4, December, 2002 255 
Obituary 
Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17,1918 - February 25, 2003) 
Robert E. Woodruff 
Florida State Collection of Arthropods, 
P.O. Box 147100, Gainesville FL 32614-7100 
Earlier this year, a t  the age of 85, Major Jacob 
Brodzinsky passed away a t  his home in Santo Domin- 
go. I t  is with great sadness that  I write this obituary, 
because "Jake" was a great personal friend and profes- 
sional colleague for over 30 years. He leaves a wife, 
Marianela (Maiieiia) Lopez-Penha, whom he married 
on April 26,1964, and two lovely daughters, Sibylla 
and Raquel. 
Jake was an  exceptionalman. He studied forestry 
management a t  the Environmental Science and For- 
estry School a t  Syracuse, New York. He served in the 
U.S. military in World War 11, in Belgium, northern 
France, Korea, andVietnam. He started in the Army 
Corps of Engineers, but later was inMilitary Intelli- 
gence. He retired in 1967 with the rank of Major, and 
entered civil service (also in intelligence). He spoke 
seven languages, and was always my source for the 
etymology of words in Spanish. 
After retiring from the military, Jake was looking 
for something to occupy his curious mind. Because his 
wife was Dominicana, it was a direct connection to the 
amber there. They formed a company, "Amberica", 
which became the source for much of the important 
insect fossils discovered in the DR. They were living 
in Charlottesville, Virginia a t  that  time, but I first 
met Jake a t  a gem and jewelry show in Tampa, 
Florida. We immediately became friends, and I assist- 
ed him in identifying fossils. In  1980, Jake retired 
from civil service, and the family moved to Santo 
Domingo, where the amber business was booming. 
However, he really wanted to be able to make such 
identifications, a t  least to the Family level. Although 
with little background and a n  ancient microscope, he 
proceeded to delve deeply into entomology. Eventually 
he asked if1 would provide training a t  my institution 
(the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gaines- 
ville, Florida), and1 was happy to do so. We spent two 
weeks in a "crash course, using many fossils that  he 
brought with him. Over the years he became extreme- 
ly proficient in identifying most fossils he encoun- 
tered, a feat that  would stymie most PhD. entomolo- 
gists. We were both proud that  we shared the only 2 
horseflies (Tabanidae) known from Dominican am- 
ber, which were named Stenotabanus brodzinslzyi 
and S. woodruffi. 
His main goal (one we also shared) was to provide 
these fossils to specialists who could formally name 
and publish on their significance. He was quite 
successful, and the many patronyms of brodzinskyi 
testify to this fact (see below). His name will perma- 
nently be recognized for this service. His goal was not 
to publish, although he did write some general papers 
(see below). He delighted in finding something new 
and significant for other scientists. 
In  addition to assisting scientists with study 
material, he and Maiieiia opened their house to dozens 
of visiting scientists from throughout the world. 
Their hospitality even extended to filthy, dirty, field 
entomologists (including myself), who often had quan- 
tities of specimens (alive & dead) andother equipment 
(which they generously agreed to store for future 
trips). It became my home in Santo Domingo! Even 
after one visitor dried his undergarments on the 
chandelier, he was still tolerated. 
Jake and I took several trips together to visit 
amber mines and to collect insects. One memorable 
trip was with "Porcina" during the African swine 
fever scare. We were waiting a t  a restaurant inMonte 
Cristi, when someone ordered "Medio Pollo" after 
dinner. After a considerable delay, the waiter finally 
brought a half chicken. Our driver accused the waiter 
of being Haitian, for not knowing that  he ordered 
coffee. We alllaughed heartily, and Jake often recalled 
that incident fondly. 
On another trip we were searching for ticks 
(garapatas) in the nests of rodents, iguanas, and 
birds. Having driven to Pedernales to spend the night 
(in a room with 5 guys in hammocks), but were to go 
by boat across Lago Oviedo early the next day. The "2 
peso hotel" had no coffee, so we delayed until Oviedo, 
when all were hungry. Aroadside stand was cooking, 
so we stopped. Jake only ate eggs once a week & this 
was his egg day, so he asked if they had scrambled 
eggs. Si, was the answer, so he ordered them. The only 
cooking pot was the same oilin which "chicharrones" 
were prepared. When he got them, they had been 
256 Volume 16, No. 4, December, 2002, INSECTAMUNDI 
dropped in hot grease, which still poured over them. 
Although disappointed, he exclaimed that  they were 
"Chicharrones de Huevos", and we laughed about this 
many times later. 
Jake was proud of his Jewish heritage, and he 
often requested matzo balls and kosher sausages 
when I visited. His favorite restaurant food was 
Chinese roast duck. Jokingly he said he was the most 
famous Jew in Santo Domingo, when "Jacobo" ran for 
president, and his name was prominently displayed 
throughout the country. Jake will be remembered as  
a great friend, a dedicated scientist, a loving husband 
and father, a s  wellas for his service to the important 
study of Dominican amber fossils. 
Citations of Scientific Papers 
for which Jake wrote or contributed: 
Poinar, G.O., Jr., K. Warheit, and J. Brodzin- 
sky. 1985. A fossil feather in Dominican amber. 
(International Research Communications Sys- 
tems) Medical Sciences 13:927. 
Poinar, G.O., Jr., and J. Brodzinsky. 1986. Fossil 
evidence of nematode (Tylenchida) parasitism in 
Staphylinidae (Coleoptera). Nematologica 32:353- 
355. 
Brodzinsky, J. 1985. Fossils in Dominican amber. 
Fossils Quarterly 3:29-40. 
Brodzinsky, J. 1997. Un vistazo general. Ambar 
l(1):lO-11. 
Patronyms for Jake Brodzinsky 
There are perhaps others that were not discovered 
during a literature search. [This search was greatly 
aided by the careful work done by Daniel E. Perez- 
Gelabert in his Catilogo Systemitico y Bibliographia 
de la Biota Fosil en Ambar de la Republica Dominica- 
na. Published in Hispaniola [publicaci6n cientifica 
ocasional] (Nueva Serie) 1 (1999): 1-65] 
Diplopoda: Pyrgodesmidae: Docodestnus brodzilzskyi 
Shear, 1981. 
Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides (Oecata) brodz- 
inslzyi Szadziewski and Grogan, 1998. 
Diptera: Periscelididae: Periscelis (Myodris) brodzin- 
skyi Grimaldi and Mathis, 1993. 
Diptera: Tabanidae: Stenotabanus brodzinskyi Lane, 
Fairchild, and Poinar, 1988. 
Diptera: Tipulidae: Braclzypremna brodzinslzii Krzem- 
inski, 1996. 
Hemiptera: Aradidae: Calisiopsis brodzinslzyorum 
Froeschner, 1992. 
Hemiptera: Enicocepha1idae:Alienates brodzinskyi 
Grimaldi, Michalski, and Schmidt, 1993. 
Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae: Ochrotrichia brodzin- 
slzyi Wells and Wichard, 1989. 
Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Dacne brodzinskyi Skelley, 
1997. 


Obituary: Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17, 1918 - February 25, 2003)

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Insecta Mundi Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida 12-1-2002 Obituary: Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17, 1918 - February 25, 2003) Robert E. Woodruff Florida state Collection of Arthropods, Bureau of Entomology, Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, BobsGems@aol.com Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi  Part of the Entomology Commons Woodruff, Robert E., "Obituary: Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17, 1918 - February 25, 2003)" (2002). Insecta Mundi. 561. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/561 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Insecta Mundi by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 16, No. 4, December, 2002 255 Obituary Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17,1918 - February 25, 2003) Robert E. Woodruff Florida State Collection of Arthropods, P.O. Box 147100, Gainesville FL 32614-7100 Earlier this year, a t  the age of 85, Major Jacob Brodzinsky passed away a t  his home in Santo Domin- go. I t  is with great sadness that  I write this obituary, because "Jake" was a great personal friend and profes- sional colleague for over 30 years. He leaves a wife, Marianela (Maiieiia) Lopez-Penha, whom he married on April 26,1964, and two lovely daughters, Sibylla and Raquel. Jake was an  exceptionalman. He studied forestry management a t  the Environmental Science and For- estry School a t  Syracuse, New York. He served in the U.S. military in World War 11, in Belgium, northern France, Korea, andVietnam. He started in the Army Corps of Engineers, but later was inMilitary Intelli- gence. He retired in 1967 with the rank of Major, and entered civil service (also in intelligence). He spoke seven languages, and was always my source for the etymology of words in Spanish. After retiring from the military, Jake was looking for something to occupy his curious mind. Because his wife was Dominicana, it was a direct connection to the amber there. They formed a company, "Amberica", which became the source for much of the important insect fossils discovered in the DR. They were living in Charlottesville, Virginia a t  that  time, but I first met Jake a t  a gem and jewelry show in Tampa, Florida. We immediately became friends, and I assist- ed him in identifying fossils. In  1980, Jake retired from civil service, and the family moved to Santo Domingo, where the amber business was booming. However, he really wanted to be able to make such identifications, a t  least to the Family level. Although with little background and a n  ancient microscope, he proceeded to delve deeply into entomology. Eventually he asked if1 would provide training a t  my institution (the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gaines- ville, Florida), and1 was happy to do so. We spent two weeks in a "crash course, using many fossils that  he brought with him. Over the years he became extreme- ly proficient in identifying most fossils he encoun- tered, a feat that  would stymie most PhD. entomolo- gists. We were both proud that  we shared the only 2 horseflies (Tabanidae) known from Dominican am- ber, which were named Stenotabanus brodzinslzyi and S. woodruffi. His main goal (one we also shared) was to provide these fossils to specialists who could formally name and publish on their significance. He was quite successful, and the many patronyms of brodzinskyi testify to this fact (see below). His name will perma- nently be recognized for this service. His goal was not to publish, although he did write some general papers (see below). He delighted in finding something new and significant for other scientists. In  addition to assisting scientists with study material, he and Maiieiia opened their house to dozens of visiting scientists from throughout the world. Their hospitality even extended to filthy, dirty, field entomologists (including myself), who often had quan- tities of specimens (alive & dead) andother equipment (which they generously agreed to store for future trips). It became my home in Santo Domingo! Even after one visitor dried his undergarments on the chandelier, he was still tolerated. Jake and I took several trips together to visit amber mines and to collect insects. One memorable trip was with "Porcina" during the African swine fever scare. We were waiting a t  a restaurant inMonte Cristi, when someone ordered "Medio Pollo" after dinner. After a considerable delay, the waiter finally brought a half chicken. Our driver accused the waiter of being Haitian, for not knowing that  he ordered coffee. We alllaughed heartily, and Jake often recalled that incident fondly. On another trip we were searching for ticks (garapatas) in the nests of rodents, iguanas, and birds. Having driven to Pedernales to spend the night (in a room with 5 guys in hammocks), but were to go by boat across Lago Oviedo early the next day. The "2 peso hotel" had no coffee, so we delayed until Oviedo, when all were hungry. Aroadside stand was cooking, so we stopped. Jake only ate eggs once a week & this was his egg day, so he asked if they had scrambled eggs. Si, was the answer, so he ordered them. The only cooking pot was the same oilin which "chicharrones" were prepared. When he got them, they had been 256 Volume 16, No. 4, December, 2002, INSECTAMUNDI dropped in hot grease, which still poured over them. Although disappointed, he exclaimed that  they were "Chicharrones de Huevos", and we laughed about this many times later. Jake was proud of his Jewish heritage, and he often requested matzo balls and kosher sausages when I visited. His favorite restaurant food was Chinese roast duck. Jokingly he said he was the most famous Jew in Santo Domingo, when "Jacobo" ran for president, and his name was prominently displayed throughout the country. Jake will be remembered as  a great friend, a dedicated scientist, a loving husband and father, a s  wellas for his service to the important study of Dominican amber fossils. Citations of Scientific Papers for which Jake wrote or contributed: Poinar, G.O., Jr., K. Warheit, and J. Brodzin- sky. 1985. A fossil feather in Dominican amber. (International Research Communications Sys- tems) Medical Sciences 13:927. Poinar, G.O., Jr., and J. Brodzinsky. 1986. Fossil evidence of nematode (Tylenchida) parasitism in Staphylinidae (Coleoptera). Nematologica 32:353- 355. Brodzinsky, J. 1985. Fossils in Dominican amber. Fossils Quarterly 3:29-40. Brodzinsky, J. 1997. Un vistazo general. Ambar l(1):lO-11. Patronyms for Jake Brodzinsky There are perhaps others that were not discovered during a literature search. [This search was greatly aided by the careful work done by Daniel E. Perez- Gelabert in his Catilogo Systemitico y Bibliographia de la Biota Fosil en Ambar de la Republica Dominica- na. Published in Hispaniola [publicaci6n cientifica ocasional] (Nueva Serie) 1 (1999): 1-65] Diplopoda: Pyrgodesmidae: Docodestnus brodzilzskyi Shear, 1981. Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides (Oecata) brodz- inslzyi Szadziewski and Grogan, 1998. Diptera: Periscelididae: Periscelis (Myodris) brodzin- skyi Grimaldi and Mathis, 1993. Diptera: Tabanidae: Stenotabanus brodzinskyi Lane, Fairchild, and Poinar, 1988. Diptera: Tipulidae: Braclzypremna brodzinslzii Krzem- inski, 1996. Hemiptera: Aradidae: Calisiopsis brodzinslzyorum Froeschner, 1992. Hemiptera: Enicocepha1idae:Alienates brodzinskyi Grimaldi, Michalski, and Schmidt, 1993. Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae: Ochrotrichia brodzin- slzyi Wells and Wichard, 1989. Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Dacne brodzinskyi Skelley, 1997. 

Hochschulschriftenserver - Universität Frankfurt am Main

INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 16, No.4, December, 2002  255 Obituary Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17,1918 - February 25, 2003) Robert E. Woodruff Florida State Collection of  Arthropods, P.O. Box 147100, Gainesville FL 32614-7100 Earlier this year, at the age of 85, Major Jacob Brodzinskypassed  away at  his home in  Santo Domin-go. It  is with great sadness that  I write this obituary, because  "Jake"  was a great  personalfriend  and  profes-sional colleague for over 30 years. He leaves a wife, Marianela (Manena) Lopez-Penha, whom he married on  April 26, 1964, and two lovely daughters, Sibylla and  RaqueL Jake  was an  exceptional  man. He studied  forestry management at  the Environmental  Science and For-estry  School at  Syracuse, New York. He served  in  the U.S. military in World War II, in Belgium, northern France, Korea, and  Vietnam. He started  in  the  Army Corps of  Engineers  , but later  was in  Military Intelli-gence. He retired in 1967 with the rank  of  Major, and entered civil service (also in intelligence). He spoke seven languages, and was always my source for the etymology of  words in Spanish. After retiring  from the military, Jake  was looking for something  to occupy his  curious mind. Because his wife was Dominicana, it  was a direct  connection  to the amber there. They formed a company, "Amberica", which became the source for much ofthe important insect fossils discovered in the DR. They were living in Charlottesville, Virginia at that time, but I first met Jake at a  gem and jewelry show in Tampa, Florida. We immediately  became  friends, and  I assist-ed him in identifying fossils. In 1980, Jake retired from civil service, and the family moved to Santo Domingo, where the amber business was booming. However, he  really  wanted  to be able to make such identifications, at  least  to the Family  level. Although with  little background and an  ancient microscope, he proceeded to delve deeply  into  entomology. Eventually he asked if  I would provide training at  my institution (the Florida State Collection of  Arthropods, Gaines-ville, Florida), and  I was happy  to do so. We spent  two weeks in  a "crash" course, using many  fossils that  he brought  with  him. Over  the  years he  became extreme-ly proficient in identifying most fossils he encoun-tered, a feat that  would stymie most PhD. entomolo-gists. We were both proud that we shared the only 2 horseflies (Tabanidae) known from Dominican am-ber, which were named Stenotabanus brodzinshyi and S. woodruffi. His main  goal (one we also shared) was  to provide these fossils to specialists who could formally name and publish on their significance.  He was quite successful, and the many patronyms of brodzinshyi testify to this fact (see below). His name will perma-nently  be recognized  for this service. His goal was not to publish, although  he did  write some general  papers (see below). He delighted in finding something new and  significant  for other  scientists. In addition to assisting scientists with study material, he and  Manena  opened  their  house  to dozens of visiting scientists from throughout the world. Their hospitality even extended  to filthy, dirty, field entomologists (including myself), who often  had  quan-tities  of  specimens (alive & dead) and  other  equipment (which they generously agreed to store for future trips). It became my home in Santo Domingo! Even after one visitor dried his undergarments on the chandelier, he was still  tolerated. Jake and I took several trips together to visit amber mines and to collect insects. One memorable trip was with "Porcina" during the African swine fever scare. WewerewaitingatarestaurantinMonte Cristi, when someone ordered "Medio PolIo" after dinner. After a considerable delay, the waiter  finally brought a half  chicken. Our  driver accused the  waiter of being Haitian, for not knowing that he ordered coffee. We alllaughed  heartily, and  Jake  often recalled that  incident  fondly. On another trip we were searching for ticks (garapatas) in the nests of rodents, iguanas, and birds. Having driven  to Pedernales  to spend  the night (in a room with 5 guys in hammocks), but were to go by boat across Lago Oviedo early the next day. The  "2 peso hotel" had  no coffee, so we delayed until  Oviedo, when  all  were hungry. A roadside stand  was cooking, so we stopped. Jake only ate eggs once a week & this was his egg day, so he asked if they had scrambled eggs. Si, was the answer, so he  ordered  them. The only cooking pot  was the same oil in  which "chicharrones" were prepared. When he got them, they had been 256  Volume 16, No.4, December, 2002, INSECTA MUNDI dropped in hot grease, which still poured over them. Although disappointed, he exclaimed that  they  were "Chicharrones de Huevos", and  we laughed  about  this many times later. Jake was proud of his Jewish heritage, and he often requested matzo balls and kosher sausages when I  visited. His favorite restaurant food  was Chinese roast duck. Jokingly  he said  he  was the most famous Jew in  Santo  Domingo, when  "Jacobo" ran  for president, and his name was prominently displayed throughout the country. Jake  will be remembered as a greatfriend, a dedicated scientist, a loving husband and  father, as well as  for his service to the important study  of  Dominican amber  fossils. Citations of  Scientific Papers for which Jake wrote or contribu  ted: Poinar, G.O., Jr., K. Warheit, and J. Brodzin-sky. 1985. A fossil feather in Dominican amber. (International Research Communications Sys-tems) Medical Sciences 13:927. Poinar, G.O., Jr., and J. Brodzinsky. 1986. Fossil evidence of  nematode (Tylenchida) parasitism in Staphylinidae (Coleoptera). Nematologica 32:353-355. Brodzinsky, J. 1985. Fossils in Dominican amber. Fossils Quarterly  3:29-40. Brodzinsky, J. 1997. Un vistazo general. Ambar 1(1):10-11. Patronyms for Jake Brodzinsky There  are  perhaps others that  were not  discovered during a literature search. [This search was greatly aided by the careful work done by Daniel E. Perez-Gelabert in  his Catalogo Systematico y Bibliographia de la  Biota Fosil enAmbar  de la Republica Dominica-na. Published in Hispaniola [publicaci6n cientifica ocasional] (Nueva Serie) 1 (1999): 1-65] Diplopoda: Pyrgodesmidae: Docodesmus brodzinskyi Shear, 1981. Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides (Oecata) brodz-inshyi Szadziewski and  Grogan, 1998. Diptera: Periscelididae: Periscelis (Myodris) brodzin-skyi Grimaldi and Mathis, 1993. Diptera: Tabanidae: Stenotabanus brodzinskyi Lane, Fairchild, and Poinar, 1988. Diptera: Tipulidae: Brachypremna brodzinskii Krzem-inski' 1996. Hemiptera: Aradidae: Calisiopsis brodzinshyorum Froeschner,1992. Hemiptera: Enicocephalidae: Alienates brodzinskyi Grimaldi, Michalski, and Schmidt, 1993. Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae: Ochrotrichia brodzin-shyi Wells and Wichard, 1989. Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Dacne brodzinskyi Skelley, 1997. 

Obituary: Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17,1918 - February 25, 2003)

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Obituary: Jacob Brodzinsky (January 17,1918 - February 25, 2003)

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