Adele
Lewis was born in 1881 in Carpenteria, CA. She received her B.S. at
the University of California at Berkeley, and earned her M.A. and Ph.D.
at Washington University in Missouri, where she was later an assistant
professor. She also taught in the botany department at Cornell University,
and was a lecturer and chairman of botany at Huguenot University College
in South Africa. She returned to California and taught at San Francisco
State College, the University of Southern California(University College)
and at George Pepperdine College. She was much in demandas a lecturer
in Teachers’ Institutes on different aspects of nature study. She became
Supervisor of Science in the Los Angeles County Schools after retiring
from the University of Southern California.
Dr. Grant was primarily a botanist, with her main contributions in the taxonomy and morphology of the genus Mimulus and its relatives. She was also well trained in ornithology and was much interested in marine life. She was a most stimulating lecturer, and her complete dedication to eliciting enthusiasm for science from students of all ages was contagious in its effect on other teachers.
Dr. Grant was the chief instigator in the formation of Sigma Delta Epsilon, apparently taking her inspiration from Gamma Alpha, the fraternity for graduate men. She was one of SDE’s founders, and the first president, in 1921. She was also president in 1924, and president of Alpha Chapter (Ithaca, NY) in 1925. She was an ardent supporter of the organization ever since its establishment, devoting particular energy to the beginning and nurturing of the Fellowships Fund. She was an active member of Tau Chapter in Southern California from the time it was founded. She died June 19, 1969, in Los Angeles.
(Taken from the obituary in the Fall 1969 Bulletin and from historical notes in the December 1935 News. First printed in the Winter 1980–1981 Bulletin.)
