IN MEMORIAM: Dr. Phil Harein and Mike Fresvik

Dr. Phil Herein, left, and Mike Fresvik

The Minnesota Pest Management Association (MPMA) reports the recent loss of two important local figures: Dr. Phil Harein and Mike Fresvik.

Dr. Harein, aged 94, died July 22. He was professor emeritus in entomology at the University of Minnesota. Donations in his memory may be sent to either St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Mahtommedi, Minn.

“Dr. Harein was very knowledgeable about pest control and especially stored product pests, helping food processors in the Midwest and the pest control industry in Minnesota for many years,” Todd Leyse, co-owner of Adam’s Pest Control, Medina, Minn., told Pest Management Professional (PMP) magazine. Leyse also serves as the MPMA’s State Policy Affairs Representative (SPAR) for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). “He did research and willingly shared his knowledge far and wide, including planning Minnesota’s two-day recertification conference for decades.”

Fresvik, aged 78, died July 18. He worked for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in soil health and pesticide regulation before retiring in 2003 and becoming the MPMA’s secretary/treasurer part-time. He also was a longtime treasurer of the American Association of Pesticide Control Officials (AAPCO). Donations in his memory may be sent to either to Community of Grace Lutheran Church, White Bear Lake, Minn., or the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), for which his father-in-law was on the national board of directors.

“Mike was one of the nicest persons you could ever meet,” Leyse tells PMP. “He loved fishing and spending time with his grandchildren, and he will be missed by his wife of nearly 52 years, Sharon, and everyone in the Minnesota Pest Management Association and industry.”

The PMP magazine staff offers its condolences to both gentlemen’s families, friends and colleagues.