Electron microscopy recently lost one of its outstanding pioneers when John Reisner passed away on June 18 of this year. We who have known and respected John, pause here to remind ourselves of his many contributions to our field and to visualize for later generations the times and social forces that brought forth such a remarkable human being. He was remarkable because of his courageous and skillful management of problems arising from a severe case of poliomyelitis. He was remarkable because of his family's determination to help him reach his full potential. He did in fact lead American development of the electron microscope at RCA from 1950 to 1970 and served (E)MSA in several roles from 1950 on until very near the end of his life, including as President of the Society.