Alice Mossie Brues

Alice Mossie Brues, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder died in her sleep on January 14, 2007 in Louisville CO. Alice was a long time resident of Boulder.

She was born on October 9, 1913 in Boston, Massachusetts. Her father, Charles T Brues, was a Professor of Entomology at Harvard University, and her mother, Beirne Barrett Brues was an amateur field botanist. Alice completed her BA in philosophy and psychology at Bryn Mawr College in 1933, and went on to do graduate work in anthropology at Radcliffe College. She was originally interested in studying comparative religions, but was strongly influenced by Ernest Hooton at Harvard, one of the founding fathers of physical anthropology, and switched to physical anthropology. Alice took all of her graduate classes at Harvard, although being a woman meant that she had to sit in the hall rather than the classroom. After completing her PhD in 1940, Alice worked first as a Research Associate at the Peabody Museum at Harvard, then as a statistician for the United States Air Force. In 1946 she took a position as an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. In 1965 she was recruited to the anthropology Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she remained until her retirement in1984.

Alice was the second woman in the USA to earn a PhD in anthropology with a specialization in physical anthropology. She is well known for her work in human biological variation and genetics, and especially for her pioneering work in computer simulations of genetic interactions among human populations. She published a number of scholarly papers, two of which are considered classics: her 1954 paper, "Selection and polymorphism in the A-B-O blood groups," and her 1959 paper, "The spearman and the archer. Her book, People and Races, was published in 1977 and used in many university classrooms in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

Alice will be fondly remembered by her family and friends as well as her university colleagues and the many students she taught. She had an unerring knack for putting students at ease in stressful situations and for helping them find confidence in their own abilities. She will also be remembered for her ready wit, her sharp intellect and her generous care for stray pets that came her way.

She is survived by her nephew Charles Brues and his wife, Jo Anne, her niece Nancy Noven of Chicago, Illinois, her grand nephews Eric Brues of Dickinson Texas, and John Brues of Texas, two step grand nieces Mari Morrow of Boulder and Colette Mc Nutt of Anacortes Washington and several great grand nephews and nieces.

Alice was preceded in death by her brother Austin Brues of Illinois.

A memorial gathering of her family, friends and colleagues will be held February 9th at 4:00 PM at the University of Colorado in Boulder in Hale Science room 230. For further information call the Department of Anthropology at 303 492 2547. Memorial gifts may be sent to the University of Colorado Foundation, c/o Department of Anthropology, 233 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309-0233. Gifts will be used to establish the Alice M Brues Memorial Scholarship Fund.