Dr. Gilbert P. Haight Jr., best known for his pioneering work in chemical education, died on Monday, April 27 of natural causes. He was 92.

Known to family and friends as “Gil,” Dr. Haight spent his professional life as a professor of chemistry, exploring and perfecting the delivery of scientific education to college students in a career that spanned the globe.

Born in Seattle on June 8, 1922, Haight spent his early years on Bainbridge Island.

The grandson of island pioneer Warren Gazzam (former owner of the Enetai Inn in Bremerton), young Gil grew up in his grandfather’s house, “Alabama,” on the west side of Bainbridge Island. Gazzam. Gil’s father, Gilbert P. Haight Sr., was an attorney; his mother, Ruth Gazzam Haight, was a Christian Science practitioner.

Gil graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1939, attended Stanford University as an undergraduate, then Princeton University where he received his doctorate’s degree in chemistry in 1946.

Haight worked on the Manhattan Project during the war as part of his PhD research. His avowed interest in chemistry originated in order to avoid becoming a teacher, which he ironically dedicated his life to after discovering a knack for tutoring his fellow college students.

His teaching and research assignments took him to Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Swarthmore, College Station, Cophenhagen, San Diego, Canberra, Australia, and Kaula Lumpur, Maylasia.

Dr. Haight is survived by his wife Shirley; three daughters (Jennifer, Sandy, Stephanie) and one son (Chad); seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Two children (Sherry and Christopher) preceded him in death.

Haight was both scientist and a very funny man, mixing humor into his teachings and daily life. A master of puns, he was happiest when eliciting an extended groan from those in his company. When he wasn’t teaching, he could most often be found on the tennis court where his unorthodox game drove his opponents crazy.

He will be fondly remembered.