Obituary: Kimball Harper 1931–2011

Abstract

Kimball Taylor Harper, 80, passed away on Sunday, 2 October 2011 in Spanish Fork, Utah. He was an exceptional scientist, teacher, and mentor, and a friend to many. Kim contributed much to our understanding of plants and their place in the landscapes of the intermountain west. His influence on hundreds of students is evidenced by so many who have chosen careers in plant science, range management, plant ecology, plant conservation, and plant taxonomy and who are now making contributions across the United States. Students have honored him with various awards, such as “Outstanding Teacher” in 1986, 1987, 1989, and 1994 at Brigham Young University. In addition, Kimball was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he received the President's Public Service Award from The Nature Conservancy in 1987. Kim served ESA as a member of the Cooper Award Committee (1987–1988) and two terms as a member of the Editorial Board for Ecology and Ecological Monographs (1965–1967 and 1975–1979). He was chair of the Merit Awards Committee for the Botanical Society of America from 1980 to 1982, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Mono Lake Ecosystem Study Committee, from 1985 to 1987. Brigham Young University recognized Kim's accomplishments in various ways, such as the Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty awards in 1980 and 1993, and the College Professorship Award of the College of Biology and Agriculture in 1993. Kimball Harper was born in Oakley, Idaho in 1931. After attending public schools there he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, after which he was drafted by the U.S. Army and served for two years in Korea. He then studied agronomy at BYU, completing his baccalaureate degree in 1958. That same year he married Caroline Frances Stepp. Kim continued his studies at BYU and completed an M.S. degree in Range Management and Plant Ecology in 1960. Kimball completed his Ph.D. in Botany with Grant Cottam at the University of Wisconsin in 1963. Dr. Harper's academic career began at the University of Utah, where he taught botany classes from 1963 to 1973. He was befriended and greatly influenced by Walter Cottam while he was there. In 1973 he accepted a position at Brigham Young University as Chair of the Department of Botany and Range Science. He continued as a faculty member at BYU until 1996. After serving an 18-month LDS mission with Caroline, he became “Botany Scholar in Residence” at Utah Valley University, where he made significant contributions to the University herbarium, tutored many students, and mentored many faculty members. Kim's legacy continues at UVU through a generous endowment for students of botany. The University has named a lecture hall for him in the Pope Science building. Anyone who had the great pleasure of Kim Harper's company enjoyed his wit, curiosity, integrity, and delightful personality. He touched our lives and we are better because we rubbed shoulders with this gentle man. Obituary written by Renee Van Buren