Prof. Claudio Gilberto Froehlich, an inspiring zoologist and limnologist of the University of São Paulo (USP, Brazil), died on November 27, 2023. He is survived by his wife Marlene Arcifa Froehlich, his sons Augusto, Felipe and Ricardo, and his daughter Júlia. His other son, Otávio, passed away in 2015. He was born on June 10, 1927 in São Paulo, SP, Brazil and was one of the two sons of Augusto Froehlich (born in Germany) and Ottilia Froehlich (born in Latvia). He grew up in this multicultural family in the city of São Paulo, which at that time was full of immigrants from various origins. His grandparents had a small farm in Nova Odessa, located in the countryside of São Paulo state, where he spent his holidays and probably had his first contact with nature. In this family environment, he and his brother Paulo Augusto Adalberto Froehlich, who would later become Professor at the State University of São Paulo (UNESP), developed curiosity for languages and nature. The childhood and adolescence of Prof. Claudio G. Froehlich occurred between the 1930s and 1940s, a period of economic and political instability, including wars and great changes. In 1932, the state of São Paulo was involved in an armed conflict against the dictatorship of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas. Despite the defeat, the 1932 Revolution, as it became known, reaffirmed São Paulo's identity and one of the consequences was the creation of the University of São Paulo (USP). Initially, the new university brought together several isolated tertiary schools that already existed; later, over the decades it became the largest Brazilian higher education institution. Meanwhile, in Europe political pressure was increasing on Jews, including researchers from renowned universities, amongst which was Prof. Ernst Gustav Gotthelf Marcus, who had a renowned career at the University of Berlin (Germany) (Winston, 2002). Due to the persecution he was suffering, he accepted an invitation to teach Zoology at USP, replacing the late Prof. Ernst Bresslau and assuming the position of Cathedratic Professor in Zoology in 1936. In 1948, the young Claudio G. Froehlich started his career at USP as a student of Natural History, where he met Prof. Ernst Marcus and later became one of his students and friends. The relationships with Prof. Marcus and USP were fundamental to Prof. Froehlich's training and academic life. All in all, he had a 70-year relationship with the referred institution: first as student, then as Lecturer/Professor, and finally as a retired Collaborating Professor.