We are grateful for the generosity and good timing of Professor Martha Hawes' donations to the Campus Arboretum. Funds were contributed in honor of her husband and Campus Arboretum friend, Professor Hans Van Etten, to sponsor a tree and bench in his name and to provide funds for 6 undergraduate interns for a full year. You can learn more about Hans, the wonderful man who inspired Martha's generosity, here.
Martha C. Hawes, born September 17, 1952, passed away January 29, 2025 in Tucson, AZ. A native of Owensboro, Kentucky, Martha travelled and studied extensively for the first 3 decades, was always engaged in supporting others and consistently drawn to connect with the natural world. Among her many roles in her early years, she was lifeguard, Director of YWCA swim program, Head of United Fund VolunTeen program, waitress, librarian, clerk, anthropology assistant, woodworking assistant, nematology research assistant and lab manager for mycology collections at Clemson University. After completing a BS Biology in 1974, she spent 3 years travelling the country in her 1968 VW Bug – working in hospitality and service roles at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Cedar City, Utah; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and in Aspen, Colorado. She earned an MS and PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Kentucky and held postdoctoral positions at the University of Florida and the University of Missouri, before joining the faculty here in Plant Pathology as Assistant Professor where she continued the rest of her career until retirement in 2017 as a full professor in Soil, Water and Environmental Science. In her profession, she was active in the American Phytopathological Society and the American Society of Plant Biologists. She authored more than 100 scientific works in these disciplines and accomplished pioneering work with border cells, transforming our understanding of the vital role these living play in root tip development. For this, she was awarded the prestigious Pelton Award in 2012 from the Botanical Society of America. Outside her profession, she was also one of the foremost authorities on nonsurgical methods used to treat scoliosis producing 14 primary research publications and a book on the topic. While in Tucson, she met the love of her life, Hans Van Etten (died August 1, 2015). Martha and Hans were known and well liked for their terrific humor, and great kindness and care for both people and animals. They were truly at home and connected to the plants and animals of the Sonoran desert nestled around their 65 acre property in the Tucson Mountains and extended that grace to those lucky know them at the UA.