Lida Kittrell Barrett

Lida Kittrell Barrett

Knoxville - Lida Kittrell Barrett, 93, of Knoxville, passed away Thursday, January 28, 2021, at Shannondale Health Care Center, shortly after last rites were administered by the Episcopal Church of the Ascension.

She was born and grew up in Houston, Texas, and by the age of 18, she had already earned her bachelor's degree in mathematics from Rice Institute. She went on to get her master's at the University of Texas and her doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania.

Though her dissertation, "Regular Curves and Regular Points of Finite Order," involved pure math, she excelled in applied mathematics, working for Schlumberger and at the Defense Research Lab at the University of Texas. Of her work at the Lab, Lida maintained, "I could have gotten a Master's in physics for the work I did," but her studies and duties left no time for her to write it up.

It was at the University of Texas that she met her future husband, John H. Barrett, a fellow grad student, who was also working toward a Ph.D. in mathematics. They were married in 1950.

With doctorates in hand, Lida and John moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, to teach at the University of Utah and to pursue their dream of becoming parents. They succeeded, adopting three children in the course of four years.

After they moved to Knoxville in 1961, they worked at the University of Tennessee, he as head of the math department, and, because of anti-nepotism rules, she as an untenured instructor instead of full professor. Lida focused her ambitions by serving as an independent mathematical consultant, doing editorial jobs for book publishers (primarily calculus texts), and returning to applied math working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Lida and John established deep roots and friendships in the Knoxville community, especially at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension and at the University of Tennessee.

After John's devastating death in 1969, at the young age of 46, from complications following a kidney transplant, Lida persevered. She kept her family of three kids together and became the third woman to be offered a tenured position at the College of Arts & Sciences, eventually taking over as head of the math department (1973-80). She was one of the first women in the country to hold such a position, yet the headline announcing her hire said, "Wife gets husband's job." She was none too pleased.

Continuing a career in administration, she took positions as Associate Provost at Northern Illinois University, Dean of Arts & Sciences at Mississippi State University, and Senior Associate to the Head of the Education Directorate at the National Science Foundation. Before retiring, she wished to get back to her teaching roots and took a post as professor of mathematics at West Point.

A commanding presence on many advisory and planning committees, Lida was known for expanding opportunities for the underrepresented in mathematics and improving undergraduate education and teaching practice. She chaired the American Mathematical Society's Committee on Employment and Educational Policy and became the second woman to be elected president of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), where she encouraged participation and membership of minorities and women. In 2008, the MAA presented her with the Gung and Hu Award for Distinguished Service to Mathematics, and in 2019, the Association for Women in Mathematics named her a fellow.

Lida was fun, competent, dedicated, infuriating, loyal, pathbreaking, and accomplished, and in order to be that she was also not afraid of making people uncomfortable to make the world a better place. She loved to read and was an active member of two book groups and two bridge groups. She loved to play Scrabble. Every day, she devoured the local paper and on Sunday, the "New York Times."

Her warmth and easy hospitality drew people in, and she enjoyed hosting friends and family, especially at her lake house, which upon her retirement, she named "Aftermath."

She was an active and beloved member of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, the Associate Order of St. Helena, and the Order of the Daughters of the King.

She is preceded in death by her husband, John; her parents, Pleasant and Maidel; and her siblings, Norman (Joy) and Maidel (Walter). She is survived by her children, John (Elizabeth), Maidel (Mike), and Mary Lou (Robert); her grandchildren, Karen (Scott), John (Becky), Alex (Andrew), Nathan (Kaylan), and Kimberly (Frederick); her great-grandchildren, Brielle, Brayden, Brian (Stephanie), Abigail, Bailey, Leo, Loxias, and Atlas; her great-great-grandchildren, Briely and Scarlett; and her many loving nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Lida's memory can be made to the Mathematical Association of America, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, or the University of Tennessee math department.

A virtual live-streaming service will be held by the Church of the Ascension on its YouTube channel and will take place on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at 12 p.m. (noon) EST: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNsRV8z3CP1WbuIEq5x1PGQ (tiny url: tinyurl.com/laq382a5).