Clare Hardham

Clare Hardham, 92, of Paso Robles, died peacefully Friday, Sept. 3, 2010. She had enjoyed a long career as a botanist and cattle rancher. Clare was born in Santa Barbara, Calif., the daughter of Elizabeth and Corwin Butterworth and grew up in Connecticut. She earned her BA degree from Vassar College, did graduate work at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and received her MS in Botany from U.C. Santa Barbara. In college, she met long-time Paso Robles physician, John F. Hardham. They married, and after World War II moved to California. They joined Clare''s parents, who owned two ranch properties in the El Pomar area. Dr. Hardham, born in Newark, N.J., and graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School, died in January 2001. Clare made extensive studies of the flora of California, concentrating on the Santa Lucia Mountains and Mono County. She discovered and named several new species in the Monardella genus. In later years, her other main interest was developing the ranch she inherited from her father to produce top quality polled Hereford cattle. Clare and John had three children and one grandchild, all of whom survive her: Ann E. Hardham, Virginia B. Hardham, and John C. Hardham, and Corwin T. Hardham. Contributions in Clare''s memory may be sent to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105.