P. A. Fryxell
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Name
Paul A. Fryxell
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Dates
2 Feb 1927 - 11 Jul 2011
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Specialities
Spermatophytes, Malvaceae, Gossypium
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Roles
Author, Determiner, Collector
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Movement Details
United States of America, Mexico, Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, Central America
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Notes
Determiner Notes: Malvaceae
Collector Notes: Texas (1971, 1975): NY, TAES Mexico (1970's-1990's): Australia (19XX):
OBITuary (written by Paul before his death) in 2011:
Paul Arnold Fryxell died in Claremont CA, Monday, 11 July 2011, as a result of heart failure. He was born 2 February 1927 in Moline IL, the son of Hjalmar Edward Fryxell and Hulda Eunice (Peterson) Fryxell. Residing in Texas from 1965 to 2005, later he and his wife moved to Claremont. He was preceded in death by his parents and by his only brother, Robert Edward Fryxell. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Greta Albrecht Fryxell and their three children: Karl Joseph Fryxell and his wife, Margaret (Peggy) Kraft Fryxell of Fairfax VA, Joan Esther Fryxell and her husband, Timothy Michael Ross of Claremont CA, and Glen Edward Fryxell and his wife, Lenita Alverson Willhight Fryxell of Kennewick WA. There are five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and six nephews.
Dr. Fryxell received education at Moline High School and at Augustana College in Rock Island IL (class of 1949); subsequently he received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Iowa State University. First employed by the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station (Las Cruces NM), he then taught at the University of Wichita (Wichita KS) in the Department of Botany and Bacteriology. Most of his professional career was spent as a research scientist with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, first in Tempe AZ and then at Texas A&M University in College Station TX. Upon retirement in 1994 he moved to Austin TX.. He was appointed Honorary Curator at the New York Botanical Garden in 1993, and also that year accepted a position as Adjunct Professor (in the then Department of Botany) at the University of Texas. Most of his extensive plant collections are now housed at the New York Botanical Gardens and the University of Texas. During World War II he served in the Army Air Force (1945-1946), part of which time was spent in southern Germany (Bavaria) at the Oberpfaffenhofen Air Base, where he helped entertain war-weary troops by playing saxophone for the "big band" music then popular. Later he received an honorable discharge and returned to his college education.
In his professional career he published widely in the technical scientific literature, including more than 200 papers in scientific journals, several books (notably The Natural History of the Cotton Tribe, the Malvaceae of Mexico, and a monograph on Pavonia), and contributions to numerous floristic works (e.g., the Flora of the Lesser Antilles, Flora Meso-Americana, Flora Novo-Galiciana, and others). He served as President of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists (1983-1984) and of the Society for Economic Botany (1988-1989). Named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancment of Science and of the Texas Academy of Science, he was honored with the Cotton Genetics Research Award in 1967 and the Henry Allen Gleason Award in 1989 (for an outstanding recent publication in the field of plant taxonomy, plant ecology, or plant geography). Paul Fryxell was a Fulbright Scholar in 1993, studying in Argentina. His biography is listed in American Men and Women of Science, Who's Who in the World, and several similar biographical references.
Fryxell's research work took him to many parts of the world as a botanical explorer, including extensive work in Mexico and Australia and additional field work in Central America, Venezuela, and Brazil. He specialized in the plant family Malvaceae and was sought after as a consultant for his expertise with this group of plants.
Paul Fryxell was an active member of Unitarian Universalist churches, where he lived in Arizona, in Texas, or in California, serving in various capacities. Most recently he served as coordinator of the BUUK GRUUP of the Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, a book club in which he enjoyed the lively discussions.
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From Flora of North America Newsletter 25(2): 27, 2011:
Paul A. Fryxell
1927–2011
P
aul Arnold Fryxell died in Claremont, California, on
Monday, July 11, 2011, as a result of heart failure.
He was born February 2, 1927 in Moline, Illinois, the
son of Hjalmar Edward Fryxell and Hulda Eunice
(Peterson) Fryxell. Residing in Texas from 1965 to 2005,
later he and his wife moved to Claremont where he continued his botanical work at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic
Garden. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Greta
Albrecht Fryxell, and their three children. There are also
five grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and six
nephews.
Dr. Fryxell received his education at Moline High
School and Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois
(class of 1949); subsequently he received the M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees at Iowa State University. First employed
by the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station
(Las Cruces, New Mexico), he then taught (1955–1957)
at the Municipal University of Wichita (Wichita, Kansas)
in the Department of Botany and Bacteriology. Most of
his professional career was spent as a research scientist
with the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, first in Tempe, Arizona, and
then at Texas A&M University in College Station,
Texas. Upon retirement in 1994 he moved to Austin,
Texas. He was appointed Honorary Curator at The
New York Botanical Garden in 1993, and also that year
accepted a position as Adjunct Professor (in the then
Department of Botany) at the University of Texas. Most
of his extensive plant collections are now housed at The
New York Botanical Garden and the University of
Texas. During World War II, he served in the Army Air
Force (1945–1946), part of which time was spent in
southern Germany (Bavaria) at the Oberpfaffenhofen
Air Base, where he helped entertain war-weary troops
by playing saxophone for the then popular “big band”
music. Later, he received an honorable discharge and
returned to his college education.
In his professional career, he published widely in the
technical scientific literature, including more than 200
papers in scientific journals, several books (notably The
Natural History of the Cotton Tribe, the Malvaceae of
Mexico, and a monograph on Pavonia), and contributions
to numerous floristic works (e.g., Flora of the Lesser
Antilles, Flora Meso-Americana, Flora Novo-Galiciana,
and others). He named more than 400 species of plants,
many genera, and infrageneric taxa. He was author of
treatments of most of Malvaceae for Volume 6 of Flora
of North America north of Mexico.
He served as President of the American Society of
Plant Taxonomists (1983–1984) and of the Society for
Economic Botany (1988–1989). Named a Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science
and of the Texas Academy of Science, he was honored
with the Cotton Genetics Research Award in 1967 and
the Henry Allen Gleason Award in 1989 (for an outstanding recent publication in the field of plant taxonomy,
plant ecology, or plant geography). Paul Fryxell was a
Fulbright Scholar in 1993, studying in Argentina. His
biography is listed in American Men and Women of
Science, Who’s Who in the World, and several similar
biographical references.
Fryxell’s research work took him to many parts of
the world as a botanical explorer, including extensive
work in Mexico and Australia and additional fieldwork
in Central America, Venezuela, and Brazil. He specialized
in the plant family Malvaceae and was sought after as a
consultant for his expertise with this group of plants.
Paul Fryxell was an active member of Unitarian
Universalist churches when he lived in Arizona, Texas,
or California, serving in various capacities. Most recently he served as coordinator of the BUUK GRUUP of
the Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, a
book club in which he enjoyed the lively discussions. -
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