Reed Rollins, Former Herbarium Director, Dies at 86

Reed C. Rollins, the Asa Gray Professor of Systematic Botany Emeritus and director of the Gray Herbarium from 1948 to 1978, died April 28. He was 86.

Born in Lyman, Wyo., he graduated with honors from the University of Wyoming, received his master's degree from Washington State University and his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1941. A member of the Society of Fellows from 1937 to 1940, he joined Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences in 1948.

Before coming to Harvard, Rollins served as associate professor of biology at Stanford University and as a geneticist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He worked on the Emergency Guayule Rubber Research Project for the U.S. Department of Agriculture during World War II. His research covered many areas in taxonomy and genetics but the primary focus of his work was on the mustard family, Brassicaceae.

He leaves his wife Kathryn; a daughter, Linda White of Hingham; a son, Richard of Portland, Ore.; stepdaughters, Sydney Roby of Baltimore and Helen Roby of Toronto, Ontario; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at the Memorial Church on Friday, May 22, at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Reed C. Rollins Fund for Botanical Field Work in care of the Harvard University Herbaria.