Our deepest condolences to you, dearest Catherine, on the passing of Frans. We are devastated; we thought he had at least another twenty years ahead of him! Guus keeps repeating that Frans deserved the Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking contributions to ethology. He cherished both a great friendship and an enormous admiration for Frans, as you will have noticed, given that the three of you have known each other for half a century. I first met Frans and yourself in 2014 when Frans honored Maastricht University by accepting, at the invitation of Prof. Joep Geraedts, the inaugural Eugène Dubois Rotating Chair. Small wonder that the colleagues and myself were so much honored by this acceptance, as Frans is a shining example for science, one of the truly greats! We should try and aspire for our students, as well as ourselves, to uphold the same high standards of scientific creativity and integrity. At the same time, his books are so eloquent, written with such patience and feeling. He takes the trouble to explain and justify his important conclusions and insights in such a way that the reader can follow and also wants to continue reading, due to the at the same time very entertaining style. He will be very sorely missed in all major public debates!
Marietje, what a beautiful tribute! Thank you. Yes, Frans was one of the truly greats. A terrible loss for so many! But I do find comfort in knowing that his greatness, his thoughts, his influence, his whole legacy will last.