Kent Kleynhans was born in Boksburg on 10 October 1935. He matriculated from the Helpmekaar Boy’s High School in Johannesburg in 1953. Besides his scholastic achievements, he was also a keen rugby player. He finished his military training at the Air Force Gymnasium, where he also qualified as a pilot. In 1954 he started his working career at the Department of Public Works and Land Affairs. A few years later he decided to go underground (legally) and found himself surrounded by gold as an official at a gold mine in Randfontein. Seeing that he could not stand narrow corridors he left the riches behind and became self-employed by opening a shoe repair shop in Pretoria.

His abiding interest in biology eventually led to a formal study in Entomology and Zoology at the University of Pretoria and a B Sc degree in 1962. With this new piece of paper in his pocket he started researching external parasites of animals at the Veterinary Research Institute at Onderstepoort, which formed the subject for an M Sc in Entomology and Zoology at the University of Pretoria. A looming transfer away from Pretoria prompted Kent to resign and join the staff of the Medical Research Institute in Johannesburg, where he remained until 1968. Kent realised he was actually a taxonomist at heart and decided to make a change. Towards the end of 1968, while waiting for a position to be vacated at the National Collection of Insects in the Department of Agriculture, he temporarily joined the staff of the Nematology Section under Prof. Juan Heyns at the Plant Protection Research Institute. He immediately knew this was where he belonged and he literally went underground again pursuing a future in the study of the taxonomy of plant-parasitic nematodes. Kent never looked back again and at the same time Nematology in South Africa profited from his knowledge.

Kent was involved in exciting work on the golden nematode of potato (no connection with his former years in the mines although it kept him digging in soil), maize and cotton nematodes, nematodes of nurseries and quarantine nematodes. A special interest in stunt nematodes resulted in a Ph D in 1982 under Prof. Heyns, who, in the meantime had moved to a teaching post at the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg. He continued his research on stunt nematodes as well as root-knot nematodes until his retirement on 31 January 1998. His interest in the difficult taxonomy of root-knot nematodes once made him say that he, the worms and the roots were all tied up in knots, but he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

In his work Kent was a perfectionist. His Ph D. thesis “Taksonomie van sekere terestriële nematode van die Ordes Tylenchida en Dorylaimida” was the first thesis without any mistakes submitted to the university. It was also the first doctoral thesis in Nematology presented in Afrikaans. Apart from the taxonomic research much effort went into the correct translation of nematological terms into Afrikaans, which was a first for South Africa. His articles were always returned by the referees who complimented him on his error-free work. He was meticulous in every aspect from the study of morphological structures on the nematodes to his excellent use of the English language. His good sense of perception of the minute structures on nematodes, as well as his ability to delve into obscure and virtually unobtainable literature, helped him to develop a compendium of the Family Tylenchorhynchidae, which was invaluable at that stage.

Kent will be remembered for his good nature and his ability to get along with everyone who passed his way. He was always willing to help anyone in any situation, collaborating with fellow scientists both within and outside the country. He was more than willing and eager to train young people in the science of Nematology and consequently was asked to assist with Nematology classes at the Pretoria Technical College for a couple of years. He will also be remembered for the good times we had on field trips, not only when things went well, but also when Murphy intervened and problems had to be solved. He was always the pillar you could rely on. His love for animals was an inspiration to all. Needless to say, Kent will be remembered for his interest in nature, the universe, everything around him, his research contributions and the species named after him but, also for just being a friend to all of us, who have known and worked with him for many years.

Esther van den Berg - ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute Pretoria