Kittie Fenley Parker (1910-1994)

1 Pages·1995·0.41 MB·

by  Dieter C Wasshausen

OBITUARY
KiTTiE Fenley Parker
(1910-1994)
Dr. Kittie Fenley Parkerdied on 9 November 1994 in San Diego, CA, USA. She
was a Professor Emeritus ofBotany at George Washington University (GWU) and
a Research Associate ofthe Smithsonian Institution, both Washington, DC, USA.
She received a BA (1930) and an MA (1932) from the University ofCalifornia at
BerkeleyandPhD(1946)fromtheUniversityofArizona. Shebeganteachingbotany
courses first in the School ofAgriculture at the University ofArizona and later in
the 1950's at George Washington University where she rose to the rank of Full
GWU
Professor. At she taught popular undergraduate courses in field botany, tax-
onomy offlowering plants, horticulture, economic botany, and graduate courses in
plantsystematics,includingsystematicsofPoaceaeandAsteraceae. Sheretiredfrom
GWU
in 1979, received emeritus status, and continued to teach horticulture for
GWU
several more years. The newgreenhouseat was named forheras a tribute to
theplant teaching-collection she accumulated and maintained.
Between 1959 and 1989, Kittie also worked in her spare time in the Department
ofBotany, Smithsonian Institution. Here she identifiedhundredsofMexicanAster-
aceaecollectionsthathadbeensenttotheU.S.NationalHerbariumforidentification
and pursued herresearch interest in Hymenoxysand Tetraneuris (both Asteraceae).
She published herresearch on the South American species ofbothgenera. While at
the Smithsonian, Kittie was very instrumental in placing a number ofher botany
students in various open positions in the Department ofBotany.
She was also an active member and past president ofthe Botanical Society of
Washingtonandalong-timememberandformersecretaryofthePotomacChrysan-
themumSociety.Herlatehusband,KennethParker,wasChiefoftheRangeResearch
Division ofthe U.S. Forest Service. Kittie is survived by two grand-daughters. She
will long be remembered by her many fields and colleagues in the Department of
Botany forherkindness and outgoingpersonality.
—Dieter C. Wasshausen, Department ofBotany, NHB-166, Smithsonian Insti-
tution, Washington, D.C. 20560-0001, USA.
MADRofjo, Vol. 42, No. 3, p. 419, 1995