A REMEMBRANCE of GERALDINE KAYE

It is with great sadness that we report that Gerry Kaye, our former Assistant Treasurer/Membership Secretary and Director, died in a snorkeling accident in Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean on March 9.  She and her husband, David, had moved to Portland, OR to be near their daughters.  We remember Gerry asresponsible, conscientious, and meticulous, but every intellectual quality was surpassed by her warmth, her humor, and her steadfast friendship.

Gerry had a science background, having studied physics and chemistry at McGill University in Montreal.  Her interest in fungi brought her to the Farlow Reference Library and Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard University.  Here her interest in research and bibliography produced several articles about mycologists and their work.  She also published a booklet on cultivated mushrooms.  During this time, she completed a master’s degree in library science at Simmons College.  In 1986 she was appointed librarian at the Botanical Libraries at Harvard where she stayed until 1990.  She served two terms as president of the Council of Botanical and Horticultural Libraries, an international group.  She was Coordinator of the Interfaculty Initiative on the Environment from 1990 to 1997.

After retirement, when she joined the Society, she fielded requests on genealogical

questions, and her email responses were literary gems.  Her genealogy specialty was the Russell Family, and her additions, and, as important, corrections to the Society’s genealogical database continue to be of incalculable value.  Additionally, Gerry felt the garden area adjacent to the Jason Russell House could use sprucing up, and she poured over books about Colonial plants and selected appropriate ones, using her research and gardening skills to restore the Colonial garden.

We will miss her.

Written by Howard Winkler, Past President