Gary List

Gary List grew up in Washington and graduated from Washington Community High School in 1960.  After that came a stint in the U.S. Army, where List served as a technician at the US Army medical laboratory at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland. The Secretary of Defense recognized his contributions with a commendation and a promotion from the lower ranks to E-5. 

Upon his discharge from the military in 1963, he started working at the Ag Lab in Peoria, officially called the National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research.  What followed was a 44-year career where Gary List changed the way the world looked at soybeans.  His groundbreaking research contributed to nearly every major modern development in edible fats and oils, significantly expanding the commercial use of soybean products and helping develop healthier, more nutritious food options for consumers worldwide.  Before his contributions, cottonseed oil was the most used oil in the market.  His groundbreaking research revolutionized the commercial soybean industry and shaped the modern landscape of food science, including early work that paved the way for removing dangerous trans fats from the global food supply.

He wrote hundreds of articles on his findings and wrote numerous book chapters.  He also mentored many young scientists as they got their start in the field.

More importantly, List was one of the most humble guys on the planet.  Never seeking credit, he quietly changed the world without longing for the spotlight.  Gary and his wife Marlene were also foster parents, fostering over twenty children from 1989-2002.

In 2006, the United Soybean Board honored Dr. List with a distinguished service award for his contributions to the soybean industry. He was selected as the Institute of Food Technologists (Chicago Section) Fred W. Tanner Lectureship Awardee and was the second bench chemist to receive the award in its 50-year history. The Minnesota Institute of Food Technologists section presented him with the Harold Macy Award for Technology Transfer. Just two other ARS scientists have received the Macy Award since 1981. He has been active and served as a fellow in the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), and the American Chemical Society (ACS). AOCS service awards include the Award of Merit and the highest AR Baldwin Distinguished Service Award.  His monumental contributions earned him the American Soybean Association's top lifetime achievement award, the Pinnacle Award, in 2024.  He passed away in June 2026.

Gary List took his Washington education and experiences and reached the pinnacle of his field.  It's hard to overstate how much his research transformed the world's use of soybeans, fields of which surround our city every summer.