Obituary Vicki Funk: Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History took to Facebook to announced the death of Vicki Funk. She was a Botany Curator and Director of the Biological Diversity of the Guiana Shield Program.
Vicki Funk’s Cause of Death is not made known yet. The funeral plans are not also publicized. We are looking into more info on her death and burial plans and will update this page as we receive more details.
Below is a Facebook message posted by the SNMNH
Today, we mourn the loss of our beloved friend and colleague, Vicki Funk, Botany Curator and Director of the Biological Diversity of the Guiana Shield Program.
A native of Kentucky, Vicki served as Curator of Asteraceae in the Botany Department for 38 years. She was a prolific researcher, publishing more than 280 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Vicki mentored many: students, early career scientists, and peers.
Her professional accolades were numerous, including being named an AAAS Fellow in 1987 and receiving the Linnaean Society’s Linnaean Medal for Botany as well as the American Society of Plant Taxonomists’ Asa Gray Award in the past year. The scientist who nominated her for the latter wrote, “Dr. Funk epitomizes the most meritorious type of scientist for the Asa Gray award: an indefatigable and innovative evolutionary biologist, a field and herbarium botanist, a pure taxonomist, and an enthusiastic mentor.”
We will miss her greatly.