Jul 20, 2021
Jeffrey Patterson Oths passed away peacefully on July 19, 2021. Reared in Waterford, Connecticut, Jeff graduated from Nasson College in Springvale, Maine, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology. He held positions in sales and retail over the years, but the true focus of Jeff’s lifelong passion lay in his love of Conchology and the seashells he researched, collected and cataloged.
An avid sheller for decades before moving to Fort Myers/Sanibel Island in 2003, Jeff saw Sanibel Island and neighboring Captiva as a shell lover’s paradise and treasure trove for growing his collection. He spent hours walking the beach in search of wentletraps and other shells including in 2009, when on Christmas Day, he discovered a long-spined star (Astralium Phoebium), later determined to be a new species on Sanibel Island.