Dr. Frederick B. Emerson, Jr., better known as Fred, was born in Wellsville, New York, in 1935 and died in Solvang at age 87 on June 30,2023 from kidney cancer and heart failure.
Fred was introduced to birding and natural history as a teenager by a friend’s mother, a high school science teacher. After graduation from Wellsville High School, he majored in biology at Alfred University. He received a Ph.D. in wildlife biology from Cornell University in 1961 before a post-doctoral year in marine science at the University of Miami.
Fred had three careers, wildlife biologist, physician, and natural history teacher. He was the wildlife biologist for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Forestry Division (1962-65), and University of Tennessee assistant professor in forestry (1965-66). Fred received the Tennessee Conservation League’s Tennessee Wildlife Conservation Award in 1968.
He received his M.D. in 1970 from Vanderbilt University and did his internal medicine residency at the University of Colorado. He practiced emergency medicine at Denver General Hospital while serving on the UC faculty until 1977, then practiced emergency medicine at Goleta Valley Hospital and urgent care/internal medicine at the UCSB Student Health Center until retirement in 1992.
Following docent training at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Fred taught birding/natural history for the museum for 25 years. He also led natural history field trips for Santa Barbara City College Adult Education and field trips and birding classes for Solvang’s Wilding Museum of Art & Nature.
He actively volunteered at UCSB Sedgwick Reserve until fall 2022. He and his wife Nancy received the Wildling’s Wilderness Spirit Award in 2008.
Also, Fred liked tennis; eclectic music genres including choral singing; linguistics; hiking and travel that included natural history. He loved to learn and teach, using humor to help students remember important ideas and to put patients at ease.
Family and friends enjoyed his humor, too, which was always kind and still evident as recently as a Father’s Day family weekend in June.
Fred is survived by his wife, with whom he shared a fulfilling 65-year marriage after meeting at Cornell University. He is also survived by their three children Robert, Mark, Molly Pyott; six grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. His parents and brother predeceased him.
The family very much appreciated the compassionate, skilled attention provided by the staff of Atterdag Village’s Care Center and Clinical Services, Complete Care at Home and Visiting Nurse Association Hospice.
A celebration of Fred’s life will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19 at Bethania Lutheran Church, 601 Atterdag Road, Solvang.
Memorial gifts may be sent to Bethania Preschool and After School Care, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, UCSB Sedgwick Reserve, and the Wildling Museum.