Dana St John Plette, an editor active in CSE for nearly 20 years, died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) on 6 April 2010.

A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Dana began her career as a research assistant. In her first editorial role, she managed the preparation of the Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine. She went on to serve successively as managing editor of four journals: Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis, Journal of Circulatory Support, Circulation, and Cancer. Her last position was as customerservice representative for Dartmouth Journal Services. In 2007, she retired for health reasons.

Dana joined CSE (then the Council of Biology Editors) in 1991. She served on a variety of committees, including Program, Sponsorship, and Editorial Policy; she was a vice chair for the Policy Committee. She also taught in the CSE Short Course for Managing Editors and the CSE Short Course for Journal Editors. In 2007, CSE awarded Dana a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of her work in seeing the seventh edition of Scientific Style and Format into print as chair of the Publications Committee.

Dana loved animals and travel. An accomplished English rider, she rode for as long as she could. Her travels took her through Canada, Europe, India, Japan, and Mexico.

“All who knew her recognized Dana’s strong and independent spirit, her zest for life, and her love for causes that made a difference,” her family has written. “While Dana was more and more challenged by ALS symptoms as time went on, she refused to be defined by those challenges.”

Survivors include Dana’s husband, Doug Plette; her mother, Dorothy St John; her father and stepmother, Gene and Kay St John; and her brother, Scott St John.

Contributions in Dana’s memory may be made to Cherish Our Children International, which Dana helped to launch (https://www.firstgiving.com/danastjohnplette); the ALS Association (www.alsa.org); or a charity of one’s choice.