HOWELL, MORAN, GALLEGOS, LINTORS

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Marin Independent Journal
Tuesday, May 10, 1994
B-2

HOWELL – In San Rafael, May 7, 1994, John Thomas Howell Jr. A resident of Nazareth House. Son of the late Thomas and Anna M. Moran Howell, brother of Julian W. Howell of Rohnert Park and the late S. Harold, Joseph B. and Paul D. Howell, uncle of Father Stephen H. Howell of San Mateo, Joseph Barrett Howell of New Jersey, Joanne B. Gallegos of South San Francisco and Edythe Ann Lintors of Rohnert Park. A well-known botanist who specialized in the flora of California. He was Emeritus Curator of botany and a Fellow of the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park. He was a native of Merced, Calif., a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and a long-time resident of San Francisco, aged 90 years.

Friends are invited to attend the funeral Mass on Wednesday, May 11, 1994, at 10 a.m. at the Nazareth House Chapel, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael. Vigil services will be held on Tuesday, May 10, 1994 at 7 p.m. at the Nazareth House Chapel. Interment, Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma. Memorial gifts in his memory may be made to the Howell Chair of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, Calif. 94188 or to the Poor Sisters of Nazareth, c/o Nazareth House, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael, Calif. 94903.
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Wednesday, May 11, 1994
B-2

John Howell Jr.
San Rafael botanist

John Thomas Howell, Jr., a resident of the Nazareth House in San Rafael, died at 90.

Born in Merced and graduated from t he University of California at Berkeley. He became a well-known botanist specializing in the flora of California. He was emeritus curator of botany and a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.

He died May 7.

He is survived by a brother, Julian Howell of Rohnert Park.

Funeral Mass is today at 10 a.m. at the Nazareth House Chapel, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael.

Memorial gifts in his memory may be made to the Howell Chair of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco 94188 or to the Poor Sisters of Nazareth, c/o Nazareth House, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael 94903.

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http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/FNA/Newsletter/Volume/V08n3.html

REMEMBRANCE OF JOHN THOMAS HOWELL - John Thomas Howell (1903--1994), Curator Emeritus of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences, died at his home in Marin County, California on 7 May 1994. Tom was born in Merced, California and by the time he entered high school there, he had become particularly interested in plants. He studied botany under W. L. Jepson at the University of California at Berkeley and received his M.A. in 1927. From 1927-1929, Tom was the first resident botanist at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden when it was still located on Susanna Bixby Bryant's ranch in Santa Ana Canyon. There, he founded the herbarium of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden (RSA). In 1929, Alice Eastwood offered Tom a position in the herbarium at the California Academy of Sciences where he spent the next 65 years in botanical exploration, research, and public education.

Although Tom collected nearly 55,000 plants, mostly from throughout
California and the western United States, tropical botanists recognize his enormous contributions to the study of the Galapagos Islands flora. From March to September of 1932, Tom was a botanist on the Templeton Crocker Expedition to the Galapagos where he collected 1,627 plants on 14 of the islands. These collections formed the basis for some of the first serious revisionary studies of plant groups with significant radiation in the Galapagos Islands. Tom's publications on the Galapagos flora dealt with such groups as Mollugo, Cactaceae, Amaranthaceae, Tiquilia, Scalesia, and Polygala.

In California, Tom collected plants in the Sierra Nevada for some 25 years with the prospect of writing a flora of that mountain range. The 20 herbarium cases housing specimens generated by those efforts are now being incorporated into the Academy's herbarium. Because they were largely unmounted, Howell's Sierran plants were not readily accessible for use by authors of the recent Jepson Manual. Botanically, Tom was a generalist with a particular interest in regional floras. Plants named for Tom include an alga, a fungus, a lichen, a liverwort, a moss, monocots, and dicots. His "specialities" included the Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Rhamnaceae, and Rubiaceae. His bibliography includes more than 500 entries, most of which deal with California plants. He considered his editing and publication of the private journal Leaflets of Western Botany (10 volumes and index, 1932--1968) to be his most important contribution to California botany. Another of Tom's best known and most popular publications is Marin Flora, Manual of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Marin County, California.

Although Tom did not teach in a university classroom setting, he probably taught botany to nearly as many people as most college professors. His "students" included Junior Academy schoolchildren, Sierra Club chapters, the California Native Plant Society, and California Botanical Club. Tom served as leader of this latter organization (which was founded in 1891 by Katherine Brandegee) from 1950 to 1970. Over the years he was a mentor to a loyal following of amateur and professional botanists. Tom's influence extended beyond informal botanical instruction and encouragement. In many cases he nurtured dedication among his followers that led to important collaborative publications such as A Flora of San Francisco (1958), A Flora of Lassen Volcanic National Park, California (1961), The Vascular Plants of Monterey County, California (1964), and A Catalogue of Vascular Plants on Peavine Mountain (1992).

In the years preceding his death Tom was actively involved in a collaborative study of the flora of Sonoma County. Tom was especially proud of having received the Willdenow Medal from the Berlin Botanical Garden and Museum (1979) and the Fellows Medal of the California Academy of Sciences (1986). Following his retirement, the John Thomas Howell Curatorial Chair of Western American Botany was established at the Academy. The endowment for this chair continues to grow and it will be activated when sufficient funds become available. His many friends and colleagues will miss Tom's thoughtful counsel, ever present humor, and zest for the flora of his native state. A
biographical sketch of Tom Howell's eventful and productive life appeared in Fremontia 17:11-19. 1989. A memorial service for Tom was held at the Academy on 8 July 1994. --Thomas F. Daniel, Frank Almeda, and Dennis E. Breedlove, Department of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.

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Message:	: Marin Independent Journal : Tuesday, May 10, 1994 : B-2 : HOWELL – In San Rafael, May 7, 1994, John Thomas Howell Jr. A resident of Nazareth House. Son of the late Thomas and Anna M. Moran Howell, brother of Julian W. Howell of Rohnert Park and the late S. Harold, Joseph B. and Paul D. Howell, uncle of Father Stephen H. Howell of San Mateo, Joseph Barrett Howell of New Jersey, Joanne B. Gallegos of South San Francisco and Edythe Ann Lintors of Rohnert Park. A well-known botanist who specialized in the flora of California. He was Emeritus Curator of botany and a Fellow of the California Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park. He was a native of Merced, Calif., a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and a long-time resident of San Francisco, aged 90 years. : Friends are invited to attend the funeral Mass on Wednesday, May 11, 1994, at 10 a.m. at the Nazareth House Chapel, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael. Vigil services will be held on Tuesday, May 10, 1994 at 7 p.m. at the Nazareth House Chapel. Interment, Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma. Memorial gifts in his memory may be made to the Howell Chair of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, Calif. 94188 or to the Poor Sisters of Nazareth, c/o Nazareth House, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael, Calif. 94903. : - - - - : Wednesday, May 11, 1994 : B-2 : John Howell Jr. : San Rafael botanist : John Thomas Howell, Jr., a resident of the Nazareth House in San Rafael, died at 90. : Born in Merced and graduated from t he University of California at Berkeley. He became a well-known botanist specializing in the flora of California. He was emeritus curator of botany and a fellow of the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. : He died May 7. : He is survived by a brother, Julian Howell of Rohnert Park. : Funeral Mass is today at 10 a.m. at the Nazareth House Chapel, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael. : Memorial gifts in his memory may be made to the Howell Chair of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco 94188 or to the Poor Sisters of Nazareth, c/o Nazareth House, 245 Nova Albion Way, San Rafael 94903. : : - - - - : http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/FNA/Newsletter/Volume/V08n3.html : REMEMBRANCE OF JOHN THOMAS HOWELL - John Thomas Howell (1903--1994), Curator Emeritus of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences, died at his home in Marin County, California on 7 May 1994. Tom was born in Merced, California and by the time he entered high school there, he had become particularly interested in plants. He studied botany under W. L. Jepson at the University of California at Berkeley and received his M.A. in 1927. From 1927-1929, Tom was the first resident botanist at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden when it was still located on Susanna Bixby Bryant's ranch in Santa Ana Canyon. There, he founded the herbarium of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden (RSA). In 1929, Alice Eastwood offered Tom a position in the herbarium at the California Academy of Sciences where he spent the next 65 years in botanical exploration, research, and public education. : Although Tom collected nearly 55,000 plants, mostly from throughout : California and the western United States, tropical botanists recognize his enormous contributions to the study of the Galapagos Islands flora. From March to September of 1932, Tom was a botanist on the Templeton Crocker Expedition to the Galapagos where he collected 1,627 plants on 14 of the islands. These collections formed the basis for some of the first serious revisionary studies of plant groups with significant radiation in the Galapagos Islands. Tom's publications on the Galapagos flora dealt with such groups as Mollugo, Cactaceae, Amaranthaceae, Tiquilia, Scalesia, and Polygala. : In California, Tom collected plants in the Sierra Nevada for some 25 years with the prospect of writing a flora of that mountain range. The 20 herbarium cases housing specimens generated by those efforts are now being incorporated into the Academy's herbarium. Because they were largely unmounted, Howell's Sierran plants were not readily accessible for use by authors of the recent Jepson Manual. Botanically, Tom was a generalist with a particular interest in regional floras. Plants named for Tom include an alga, a fungus, a lichen, a liverwort, a moss, monocots, and dicots. His "specialities" included the Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Rhamnaceae, and Rubiaceae. His bibliography includes more than 500 entries, most of which deal with California plants. He considered his editing and publication of the private journal Leaflets of Western Botany (10 volumes and index, 1932--1968) to be his most important contribution to California botany. Another of Tom's best known and most popular publications is Marin Flora, Manual of the Flowering Plants and Ferns of Marin County, California. : Although Tom did not teach in a university classroom setting, he probably taught botany to nearly as many people as most college professors. His "students" included Junior Academy schoolchildren, Sierra Club chapters, the California Native Plant Society, and California Botanical Club. Tom served as leader of this latter organization (which was founded in 1891 by Katherine Brandegee) from 1950 to 1970. Over the years he was a mentor to a loyal following of amateur and professional botanists. Tom's influence extended beyond informal botanical instruction and encouragement. In many cases he nurtured dedication among his followers that led to important collaborative publications such as A Flora of San Francisco (1958), A Flora of Lassen Volcanic National Park, California (1961), The Vascular Plants of Monterey County, California (1964), and A Catalogue of Vascular Plants on Peavine Mountain (1992). : In the years preceding his death Tom was actively involved in a collaborative study of the flora of Sonoma County. Tom was especially proud of having received the Willdenow Medal from the Berlin Botanical Garden and Museum (1979) and the Fellows Medal of the California Academy of Sciences (1986). Following his retirement, the John Thomas Howell Curatorial Chair of Western American Botany was established at the Academy. The endowment for this chair continues to grow and it will be activated when sufficient funds become available. His many friends and colleagues will miss Tom's thoughtful counsel, ever present humor, and zest for the flora of his native state. A : biographical sketch of Tom Howell's eventful and productive life appeared in Fremontia 17:11-19. 1989. A memorial service for Tom was held at the Academy on 8 July 1994. --Thomas F. Daniel, Frank Almeda, and Dennis E. Breedlove, Department of Botany, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA.