Paul Leslie Redfearn Jr. (1926–2018) was an American professor of botany, specializing in

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

es and

liverwort Liverworts are a group of non-vascular land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry ...

s. He was the president of the

American Bryological and Lichenological Society The American Bryological and Lichenological Society is an organization devoted to the scientific study of all aspects of the biology of bryophytes and lichen-forming fungi and is one of the nation's oldest botanical organizations. It was original ...

from 1971 to 1973. He was the mayor of

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

from 1978 to 1981.

Biography

After graduating from high school, Paul L. Redfearn Jr. served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

in 1944 and 1945. He graduated in 1948 with B.S. from

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. It offers undergraduate, gradua ...

and in 1949 with M.S. from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. From 1950 to 1954 he served in the United States Army Medical Service Corps in California and Japan. He graduated from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

with Ph.D. in 1957. He taught botany in the department of biology at

Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second-largest u ...

from 1957 to 1988, when he retired as professor emeritus. In

, Redfearn served from 1973 to 1977 as a city council member in Zone 4 and from 1978 to 1981 as the mayor. (Springfield has council-manager government and Springfield's City Council has 4 Zones: numbered 1 for NW, 2 for NE, 3 for SW, 4 for SE. National Avenue in Zone 4 forms the eastern boundary of Missouri State University.) Redfearn received several awards. In 1965 he was elected a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. He was a member of many organizations and served as a volunteer curator at the Norland Henderson Herbarium of Powell Gardens in

Kingsville, Missouri Kingsville is a city in west central Johnson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 245 at the 2020 census. History Kingsville was platted in 1856. The community was named for General William King, a first settler. A post office ca ...

. Redfearn was from 1986 to 1992 the editor-in-chief of the journal ''Missouriensis'' of the Missouri Native Plants Society. Starting from 1996 he issued the

exsiccata Exsiccata (Latin, ''gen.'' -ae, ''plur.'' -ae) is a work with "published, uniform, numbered set of preserved specimens distributed with printed labels". Typically, exsiccatae are numbered collections of dried herbarium Biological specimen, spe ...

''Mosses of the interior highlands exsiccatae'' with Bruce Allen and Robert Magill as co-editors. In 1949 in

Polk County, Florida Polk County () is a County (United States), county located in the Central Florida, central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as ...

, Paul Redfearn Jr. married Donna Alice Rubie Whitten. Upon his death he was survived by his widow, two sons, Paul Leslie III and James Jeffrey, two granddaughters, one step-grandson, and five great-grandchildren. Paul L. Redfearn III became a lawyer with a national reputation and from 1992 to 1993 was the president of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.

Selected publications

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Redfearn, Paul Leslie 1926 births 2018 deaths American bryologists 20th-century American botanists 20th-century mayors of places in Missouri 21st-century American botanists Florida Southern College alumni University of Tennessee alumni Florida State University alumni Missouri State University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Politicians from Springfield, Missouri