Bernard C. Easterday died on March 17, 2026. He was born September 16, 1929, to Harley and Alberta (Bodenbender) Easterday. He graduated from Hillsdale High School in 1947, earned his DVM degree with high honors from Michigan State University in 1952, and immediately began his veterinary medical career as a large animal veterinarian in Hillsdale until his country called. He served as an officer in the US Army Veterinary Corps from December 1952 until December 1954. Part of his service commitment included one year in Kenya as a member of a team of six veterinarians conducting research on rinderpest and African swine fever, highly fatal diseases of ruminants and swine, respectively. He continued working with various animal and human infectious diseases as a research veterinarian at Fort Detrick, Maryland from 1955 to 1961. During this time, he simultaneously completed required coursework and research to earn his MS degree in 1957 and his PhD in1961 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was appointed Associate Professor of Veterinary Science at the UW-Madison in 1961 and was promoted to Full Professor in 1966, then served as chair of the Department of Veterinary Science from 1968 to 1974.

In 1979 Dr. Easterday was named the founding dean of the new UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. He guided creation of the School through turbulent years of political controversy and continued to lead the School as Dean from its opening in 1983 until his retirement in 1994. During his tenure, the School rose quickly to a position of national prominence that it still maintains today. For 34 years he served as a faculty member, department chair and dean on many university committees, always considering and supporting the best interests of the University. Upon his retirement he was appointed as Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus. During his retirement he continued to be respected for his commitment to the University, as demonstrated by requests to serve in a variety of university roles, including serving in 2001 as Interim Director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and guiding its transition from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection to the University of Wisconsin System.

Dr. Easterday enjoyed a very active and productive career as an internationally recognized veterinary medical scientist, virologist and academic leader. In his research work he studied several infectious diseases of animals and humans and served as a mentor for many graduate students. Most notable among his scientific contributions were his research on the pathogenesis of Rift Valley Fever and his studies of swine and avian influenza viruses and their relationship to human influenza. In collaboration with Dr. Ronaldean Pawlich of Broadhead, WI, he was the first to demonstrate conclusively the natural transmission of swine influenza virus from pigs to human beings. In the mid-1960s through the mid 1970s, he and his colleagues recovered and characterized many different influenza viruses from free-flying birds of various species and, thus, contributed to the evidence of a reservoir of influenza viruses in waterfowl and the potential for the reassortment of influenza virus gene segments in those species. He also studied aspects of the pathogenesis and immunology of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus, transmissible gastroenteritis virus of swine, and bovine and swine herpes viruses. His work was documented in more than 150 refereed journal publications, more than 25 book chapters, and via numerous invited lectures around the world.

For a period of 30 years from 1964 to 1994, Dr. Easterday actively participated in and contributed meaningfully to the World Health Organization (WHO) Coordinated Study on Animal Influenzas. This program brought together scientists from many countries and organized studies to understand relationships of animal influenza viruses to those in humans. As a representative of the WHO he collaborated with other influenza virus researchers in several countries, and from 1974-1985 he served on the US-USSR Agreement on Influenza and Respiratory Disease Program. In the latter role he was the principal coordinator for work on the ecology of influenza viruses, made several memorable trips to the USSR, and hosted Soviet scientists in Wisconsin. He was also a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the BARD, the Binational (US-Israel) Agricultural Research and Development program from 1982 to 1985.

Dr. Easterday was highly respected for his commitment to the advancement of the veterinary medical profession and the fields of biomedical education and research, as demonstrated by his involvement with many national and international organizations. A few examples include the FAO/WHO Comparative Virology Working Team on Coronaviruses, the NIH-NIAID National Committee on Influenza, the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases, the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges, two National Research Council committees, the USDA Secretary’s Committee on Foreign Animal Diseases, and the WHO Expert Panel on Zoonoses. He served as chair or president of many of these and also served as a charter member of the American College of Veterinary Microbiology.

Dr. Easterday was recognized with many awards throughout his career, such as the Michigan State College of Veterinary Medicine Alumni Award (in both 1975 and 1999), the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association Veterinarian of the Year, the Walter Renk Distinguished Professor Award, the Gold Medal of Recognition in the Field of Veterinary Medicine from the Czech Republic, an Award for Distinguished Service to Wisconsin Agriculture, the UW-Madison Distinguished Alumni Award, and many more. The UW-Madison also named a campus street as Easterday Lane to honor him.

Dr. Easterday is survived by his best friend and wife, Charlene (Fry). Together they enjoyed riding their motorcycle, flying their airplane (he was an avid pilot), and traveling and serving as escorts for travel groups, especially to East Africa and the second love-of-his-life, Kenya. They cherished and enjoyed their respective families, their careers, and their many friends and colleagues around the world.

Appreciation is expressed to the physicians, physician assistants, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare providers of the UW Health Home-based Primary Care Team, the UW Health Emergency Department, and the dedicated caregivers on the B6/6 unit at University Hospital.

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