Jessie M. Bierman

Jessie M. Bierman, a pioneer in the field of maternal and child health, died of natural causes at the Carmel Valley Manor on Aug. 26. She was 96.

A pediatrician and a professor of public health between 1947 and 1963, Bierman was one of the first in the nation to establish programs for delivering health care to infants and children, particularly in high risk communities.

She helped set up health delivery programs at the U.S. Children's Bureau during the Depression and innovated with well-baby clinics in Montana that later became a model for the nation.

In the 1950s, while on leave from the School of Public Health, Bierman served as chief of the maternal and child health unit for the World Health Organization.

Upon her retirement, Bierman was appointed professor emerita, and she continued to direct the school's research in maternal and child health until 1967.

Her most unusual legacy is the "Jessie B," a research vessel that studies threatened species in Montana's Flathead Lake, and a research chair she endowed in order to support ecological research at the lake's biological station.

Bierman is survived by her sister, Esther Bierman Simon, who resides at Carmel Valley Manor, and a niece and nephew, Kent and Susan Simon of Maui.

A memorial service was held Sept. 1 and graveside services were held Sept. 15 in Kalispell, Mont.

Noted California botanist Rimo Charles Bacigalupi, affectionately known to friends, colleagues and several generations of botany students as "Bach," died at his Berkeley home Aug. 23. He was 95.

An expert in the flora of California, Bacigalupi was the first curator of the Jepson Herbarium and Library, where he served for 18 years.

He received his BA in botany from Stanford in 1923 and his MA in 1925.

His doctoral work at Harvard, on the North American species of a genus of asters, afforded him the opportunity to become acquainted with the great botanical institutions of Europe. During the Depression he worked for the U.S. Forest Service, where he supervised the collection of seeds for erosion control and the development of Tilden Park Botanical Garden.

Colleagues at the herbarium recall Bacigalupi's extensive knowledge of botanical history and his proficiency with foreign languages, which was exploited particularly when Latin diagnoses were required.

Because he was both obliging and knowledgeable, the herbarium gradually came to provide public service and thus significant educational influence.

Bacigalupi is survived by his sisters-in-law Mary and Matilde Bacigalupi, nieces Marilyn Adkins and Janice Underwood and nephews George and Larry Bacigalupi. A memorial service will be held Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Alumni House.