Obituary of Richard Persons PHARIS

March 19, 1937 – Indianapolis, Indiana July 3, 2018 – Calgary, Alberta Following nearly a month in the Foothills Medical Centre, Richard (Dick) Pharis passed away on Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at the age of 81 years. Dick was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and because of his father’s army career, lived in many U.S. states. His teenage years were spent in the Seattle area where his love of fishing, the mountain and forests developed. There as a boy scout he earned his Eagle Scout status and forever after lived by the motto “be prepared”. Graduating in Forestry from the University of Washington in 1958, Dick went on to Duke University in North Carolina to gain a Masters and PhD degrees in plant physiology. After a two year post-doctoral fellowship at California Institute of Technology, he began a research and teaching career in 1964 as a Professor of Botany at the University of Calgary. His tenure-ship there persisted for fifty-three years, as did his love for Alberta’s prairies and Eastern Slopes. Research in forestry, horticultural and agronomy took him and his wife Vivian to many parts of the world, but especially to Australia and New Zealand. Dick became globally recognized for his research in plant hormones, especially gibberellins. His Calgary lab hosted students and scientists from around the world. Dick was a major force in Alberta’s land conservation movement and in the 1960’s helped found the Alberta Wilderness Association. The Pharis’s travelled extensively in wild places by foot and horse and even camel in Australia. They lived on an acreage on the escarpment of Big Hill Springs north of Cochrane for nearly fifty years, where they kept pack and saddle horses, chickens and a menagerie of pets. They were also residents of New Zealand and for the past twenty-five years operated a vineyard just north of Christchurch that grew grapes for their winery, Torlesse. Dick is survived by his wife Vivian, sister Lynne of Bellinham, WA, six brothers-in-law, seven sisters-in-law and eleven nieces and nephews. Memorial Service will be held at the Alberta Wilderness Association (), on Saturday, September 22, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Alberta Wilderness Association, 455 – 12 St N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1Y9, Telephone: 403-283-2025, . In living memory of Dick Pharis, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Cochrane, 369 RAILWAY STREET, COCHRANE, AB, T4C 2E2, Telephone: 403-932-4740.