Professor was recognized globally and in Canada for contributions to swine nutrition

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

by SUSAN MANN

Cornelis (Kees) de Lange, a University of Guelph swine nutrition professor who had a tremendous passion for his work, died Monday at his home in Guelph after an eight-year battle with melanoma. He was 55 years old.

In an emailed statement, Ontario Pork says de Lange’s “dedication to swine research and furthering our industry made him an exceptional ambassador, not only for our sector but for all of agriculture and academia.”

Ontario Pork “is deeply saddened to hear of his passing,” the statement says.

As a member of the university’s swine team, de Lange excelled at projects and studies that improve animal health and led to more efficient production practices. “His friendly demeanor and wealth of knowledge made him approachable and enjoyable to work with,” the statement says.

Ontario Pork chair Amy Cronin says she knew de Lange through the organization’s research committee and saw him at many industry events over the years.

“I was always able to have a good conversation with him,” she notes. “I have a lot of good memories of him.”

De Lange was a professor in the University of Guelph’s department of animal biosciences in the Ontario Agricultural College. Farming was in his blood and he spent his entire life serving the agricultural industry.

“The swine industry was a specific love of his,” Cronin says. “He gave so much to this industry. I think he’ll be remembered for being a fantastic guy and someone who was committed to contributing to this industry through many different research projects and by making himself available to the Ontario industry, to the national industry and to the global research community.”

Dominique Bureau, a professor in Guelph’s department of animal biosciences, says in an emailed statement that de Lange was “truly an outstanding animal nutrition scientist. He was globally recognized and highly respected for the quality, originality, scope, sophistication and relevance of his research in animal nutrition.”

He was born in De Weere, The Netherlands and grew up in a farming community, according to his obituary posted on the Gilbert MacIntyre & Son Funeral Home website.

He started his post-secondary school studies at Wageningen University in The Netherlands and completed them in Canada. De Lange moved to Alberta in 1985 to pursue a PhD in animal nutrition at the University of Alberta.

After completing his degree in Alberta, de Lange began a distinguished career in agriculture. He worked in the Ontario feed industry and in applied research at the Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatchewan.

In 1994 he became a professor of swine nutrition at the University of Guelph. De Lange “made a lasting impression as a teacher and mentor to many undergraduates and graduate students,” the obituary says. He also published numerous scientific papers, book chapters and served on a number of international committees.

Cronin says de Lange was passionate about research. “He always brought valuable research projects forward to our research committee. He also made himself available as a committee member to help evaluate different projects that came across our table.”

She adds that de Lange was a “very well respected researcher and our industry and the university were very fortunate to have him. He’s definitely going to be missed.”
De Lange was always available to industry members and “if you had a question you could call him on the phone and he would help you out in any way that you could,” she explains.

One of de Lange’s lasting legacies is he was always thinking about the industry’s sustainability and “where it was going in the future,” Cronin says.

De Lange is survived by his wife, Deirdre Conway, children, Samuel, Mark, Julia and Anna, and siblings in The Netherlands and Germany along with other relatives in Canada and Europe.

There will be a visitation for de Lange on Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Gilbert MacIntyre & Son Funeral Home, Hart Chapel, on Gordon Street in Guelph. His funeral mass is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. at the Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate on Norfolk Street in Guelph.

The University of Guelph says in a statement posted on its website flags on the campus will be lowered to half-mast on Friday to mark de Lange’s funeral service. BF