Glen Pher Lofgreen1

Abstract

“I have lived simply, I have laughed frequently, and I have loved deeply. What more can I ask?” Glen Pher Lofgreen was born September 28, 1919, in St. David, AZ. He was the 10th of 19 children, including six half brothers and two half sisters. Growing up on a small farm, he loved sports, music, homemade ice cream, and cattle. Following high school graduation in 1937, he enrolled in the animal husbandry course at the University of Arizona. After Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, he enlisted in the military, but in 1942, he was given a medical discharge when he contracted rheumatic fever. Returning to St. David, Glen worked as a high school janitor and met June McRae. Their marriage in 1945 was blessed with seven children. When he died on October 14, 2004, he left 38 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren. Glen received his B.S. degree in animal husbandry at the University of Arizona in 1944. Shortly after their wedding, Glen and June traveled to Ithaca, NY, for his graduate studies. Mentored by Jack Loosli, Glen investigated nitrogen metabolism and theoretical nitrogen requirements of sheep and cattle, receiving his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Cornell University in 1946 and 1948, respectively. Glen started his teaching and research career at Montana State University during the winter of 1948. Quickly realizing a preference for the warmer climes of his youth, he joined the faculty of the University of California, serving on the Davis campus from 1948 to 1968, and subsequently at the University's Desert Research and Extension Center (in El Centro) until he retired in 1977. Then, Glen joined New Mexico State University, serving for 13 yr as superintendent of the newly inaugurated Clayton Livestock Research Center.