Royal Jason Nadeau

August 24, 1939 – August 16, 2026

Royal Jason Nadeau, 86, of Allamuchy, New Jersey, died peacefully on August 16, 2026, in Morristown, New Jersey, surrounded by loved ones.

Royal was born on August 24, 1939, in a farmhouse on Threshing Day in Chateaugay, New York, a small town in the North Country, to Beatrice Isabelle Barnes Nadeau and Philip Robert Nadeau.

He graduated from Chateaugay Central School in 1957 and from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh in 1962 with a degree in secondary science education. He went on to earn a master’s degree in zoology from the University of New Hampshire in 1967 and a Ph.D. in ecology from Rutgers University in 1972. On October 12, 1963, in Monroe, New York, he married his soulmate, Ellen Hjordis Jahnsen.

Before beginning his graduate studies, Royal spent four summers (1958–1961) at Camp Chateaugay as a cabin counselor and Tripping Master, leading campers on wilderness canoe trips, and a memorable six months as a door-to-door salesman for Collier’s Encyclopedia in Florida. One of his co-counselors at camp was John Berendt, then a Harvard student and later the author of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” One day, as Royal worked on the camp’s outboard engine, John watched from the dock. Royal remarked that he wished he had John’s talent as a wordsmith; John replied that he wished he had Royal’s talent for fixing mechanical objects like outboard engines.

Following graduate school, Royal began his professional career with the newly formed United States Environmental Protection Agency as a marine biologist in the Research and Development program in Edison, New Jersey. As Regional Biologist for EPA’s Region I, he performed one of the first surveys characterizing the impact of PCBs in the Hudson River from the GE facility in Fort Edward, New York, and testified on his findings at numerous administrative hearings and trials. He responded to a number of high-profile oil spills, including the Zoe Colocotroni spill in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, which destroyed acres of pristine mangrove forest. With colleagues, he developed a bioassay using marine organisms to determine the toxicity of dredge spoils and sewage wastes being dumped into the New York Bight.

In 1978, Royal became a charter member of the EPA’s Environmental Response Team, ultimately designated one of the Special Forces under the National Contingency Plan. He responded to major spills including the Exxon Valdez, representing the agency on the use of chemical dispersants and the assessment of damages to natural resources, and came to be recognized as a National Expert in oil spill response. In 1994, he was appointed to represent EPA on a United Nations Special Mission assessing the Komi oil spill in Northern Russia, and he earlier traveled to Morocco to advise government officials on impacts from the leaking tanker Kharg 5.

Between spill responses, Royal served on site investigation teams at Superfund hazardous waste sites across the country. In the later years of his career, he focused on ecological restoration following site remediation, traveling to EPA regional facilities with special instruction teams of scientists and restoration experts from Rutgers University. After the events of September 11, 2001, reshaped the agency’s mission, he retired in January 2002 and founded his own ecological consulting firm, The Eco-Strategies Group LLC.

Royal always loved the natural world — the underlying drive, no doubt, for his becoming an ecologist and environmentalist. One of his favorite pastimes was playing the guitar, which he took up at twelve years old, when an older boy in Chateaugay, James Ryan, gave up his lunch periods to teach him a few chords. Jim later went on to a career as an officer in the Air Force. Royal later “inherited” the Gibson guitar Jim had played, which belonged to Aron and Lillian Rose, and used it throughout high school, performing at the Teen Age Canteen, a Saturday night gathering for young people in the Chateaugay town hall. When he later worked at the Roses’ camp for children, Camp Chateaugay, he played that same guitar at song fests.

At SUNY Plattsburgh, Royal was a member of “The Songsmiths,” a folk quartet of three students and the director of music, Dr. George Yokum, which toured the North Country with the College Chorale and competed at a 1960 folk music contest at Grossinger’s resort in the Catskills. During his senior year, he played and sang folk songs at ski lodges in Stowe, Vermont, and the Adirondacks — some of them songs he and a fellow student had collected in the North Country for a Senior Honors Program project. That collection is now part of the SUNY Plattsburgh Archives’ North Country Heritage Project.

His grandchildren loved listening to their “Pepe” play his musical instruments and sing.  He had a smile and laugh that filled everyone with joy.

Royal is survived by his wife, Ellen Nadeau; his children, Kari Nadeau and Craig Nadeau; his grandchildren, Caleb Nadeau, Phoebe Nadeau, Zainah Nadeau, Samir Kahn, Christopher Jackson, Jennifer Jackson, Stephanie Jackson, Katherine Jackson, and Elizabeth Jackson.  He was pre-deceased by his half-sisters, Jocelyn Tourville and Marilyn Hope Tourville.

“Royal, my kindred spirit, I will always cherish our marriage and love you forever.  We were blessed to have each other for sixty three years.”
Ellen Nadeau

“We love how you changed the world for the better and left a long lasting impact to sustain a healthy planet.”
Kari Nadeau

“My father made it his life’s work to make the world a better place for all of us.  And he did.”
Craig Nadeau

“My Pepe loved the outdoors and nature so much that he taught his grandchildren to do the same. I will carry his spirit with me on every adventure, forever.”
Phoebe Nadeau

“For my Pepe, who lives on in the waves of the Delaware River and the forest canopies of the Appalachian Mountains. Thank you for everything.”
Caleb Nadeau

“Every place I go, I’ll think of you
Every song I sing, I’ll sing for you”
Jennifer Jackson

“Pepe’s happiness was contagious. Even now, Pepe helps me find joy everyday.”
Stephanie Jackson

“With a big floppy hat, a face-splitting grin, head tilted to the sky, and the sound of booming, knee-slapping laugh that could fill any room with infectious joy. I am going to miss my Pepe.”
Christopher Jackson

“To my Pepe, the coolest guy I’ve ever known. Thank you for all you have taught me about the world around us and the music that makes each person special. Love you forever Pepe.”
Katherine Jackson

“Have fun on those country roads, Pepe”
Elizabeth Jackson

In his own words: “I would like to be remembered by all who loved me and all the people I cherished. Love wins.”
Royal Nadeau

His ashes will be interred and a memorial held on October 3, 2026 at Tranquility Cemetary in Green Township, NJ.  Please RSVP to ellenhnadeau@gmail.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Royal’s memory

to The Nature Conservancy (preserve.nature.org/page/81523/donate/1 — select “This gift is in honor or memory of someone”), and/or

to a memorial bench in Royal’s name near the Appalachian Mountain Club Mohican Outdoor Center, one of his favorite places to experience nature (gofund.me/feb42e52a) and/or

to the Royal J Nadeau scholarship fund (http://alumni.plattsburgh.edu/Nadeau) at the State University of New York, Plattsburgh for students focusing on Environmental Science.

For those of you who want to express your condolences and /or share a memory of Royal, please follow this link (https://www.mykeeper.com/RoyalNadeau).