On Dec. 28, Richard Stephen Hammerschlag of Highland at 82. He is survived by wife Freddi Hammerschlag (née Shurr); son Dan (Jodi) Hammerschlag; grandchildren Julia Hammerschlag and Blake Hammerschlag; and brother Alan (Bonnie) Hammerschlag. He was predeceased by parents Sally and David Hammerschlag. He was a biologist with the United States Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel from 1995-2007, but for the majority of his professional career (1974-1995), he served as chief, Center for Urban Ecology for the National Park Service. He received his B.A. in botany at Colgate University in 1963 and his M.S in plant pathology at the University of Maryland in 1966. From 1966 to 1968, after being drafted, he became a first lieutenant in the Army at Ft. Detrick, where he was involved with rice disease studies. Following this tour of duty in the Army, he returned to the University of Maryland where he received a Ph.D. in plant pathology in 1972. This was followed by a post-doctoral appointment at the USDA in Beltsville in 1972 where he conducted herbicide mode of action studies. Following retirement, he collaborated on several wetlands projects while remaining on board at Patuxent as an emeritus scientist, serving as a volunteer at the National Arboretum and elsewhere, redesigning sections of the several acre eclectic home garden, traveling both in the U.S. and abroad with his also retired wife (married 57 years), and of course spending prime time with his family.
Contributions may be sent to The Nature Conservancy, Attn: Treasury, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Fairfax, VA 22203; Friends of Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton, MD 20902; or the National Bonsai Foundation, 3501 New York Ave. N.E., Washington, DC 20002.
