William F. Pyburn

1927 - 2007

William F. Pyburn, a university professor, passed away at a local hospital Saturday, May 5, 2007, after a long illness.
Memorial service: 2 p.m. Friday, July 27, in the library at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that donors make contributions to the William F. Pyburn Scholarship at the university.
Dr. Pyburn was professor emeritus in biology at UT-Arlington, where he taught for 26 years. He is remembered for his love of the natural world and his artistic ability, which persisted until his demise. He served in the Navy Medical Corps in World War II. He is greatly missed by family and friends. He was born in Corsicana on March 22, 1927.
"Dr. Pyburn received his degrees at the University of Texas and came to Arlington State College, where he consistently maintained a productive program of scientific inquiry that greatly enhanced the difficult transition of the department of biology from a two-year teaching entity to a mature, research-oriented department offering advanced undergraduate and graduate instruction. Perhaps more than any other member of the teaching faculty, he guided, strengthened and, by example, supported this aspect of the departmental activities through a period of rapid change and growth. The quality of his research in anuran biology gained national recognition and reflected great credit to the university.
"Participating in the International Biological Program, he led seven expeditions to the rainforests of Central America. As a result of his research there he collected many new forms, naming 14 new frogs and initially established and, through the years, brought to a high level of development, one of the department's most esteemed facilities, its vertebrate teaching and research collection. Under his direction it gained international recognition as one of the foremost repositories of geotropically herpetofauna in the world. It is today very actively used by biologists from many institutions as a source of reference material and field data.
"He possessed a certain quality which will survive all his others and will, in a sense, prove to be immortal. This is the inspirational impact and influence which he had upon students. Throughout his career he was known among his colleagues and students as, foremost, a competent, but also a compassionate teacher. The graduate students whom he directed have been among the most successful graduated by the department. Through them and through those of us who have been privileged to work with him, his passion for scientific integrity and commitment to the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge will continue to influence the biological world."
(The foregoing was excerpted from the commendation written by Dr. William R. Meacham, former head of the biology department, on conferring the emeritus.)
Survivors: His wife of 57 years, Wanda Carl Pyburn; his daughter, Dr. K. Anne Pyburn and her husband, Dr. Richard R. Wilk; and granddaughter, Elvia Pyburn-Wilk.