Memorial fund established for Jon Diehl

The family of Jon Diehl has established a memorial fund in his name at the Institute for Applied Ecology to support monarch butterfly habitat restoration and teaching incarcerated young women about conservation. Jon was an attorney and evolutionary ecologist with a PhD in entomology. In the late 1980s he received a master’s degree in entomology from Oregon State University. He and his wife, Claire, moved to Arizona where Jon started his PhD in entomology then switched to a law degree. Their daughter, Grace, was born in 1996. They returned to Oregon in 2001 and Jon worked for the judges of the Marion County Circuit Court. Jon’s passion was exploring nature. He was never happier than with binoculars and a camera, appreciating Oregon’s natural wonders, especially with his dog by his side. Jon died April 8, 2015 after a long battle with cancer.

The memorial fund, started with a donation from Jon’s sister Sarah and her husband Clay, will support nursery production of showy milkweeds, a host plant for monarch butterflies, at the Albany Juvenile Detention Center as well as butterfly conservation lectures to the incarcerated youth at this institution.

To make a donation to the Jon Diehl Memorial Fund for Monarch Conservation, use our secure Donate page and send an email to or call Tom Kaye ([email protected], 541-753-3099 ext. 111) to indicate that your donation is to be used for this specific fund.