In Memoriam: Adair B. Gould, Dec. 6, 2011

9:19 a.m., Dec. 13, 2011--Adair Brasted Gould, 95, of Wilmington, Del., died on Dec 6. 

Dr. Gould joined the University of Delaware biology department as a research associate in 1964. She became a faculty member and taught courses in general biology, human heredity and evolution in the 1970s. She retired as an associate professor in 1981. 

Born Feb. 18, 1916, she grew up in Hornell, N.Y. , and was salutatorian of her class at Hornell High School in 1932. She graduated from Barnard College in 1936 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Rochester, where she met her future husband, Charles W. Gould, who predeceased her in 1983. 

They married in June 1940 and settled in Wilmington in 1944. She spent several years caring for her family before joining the University. 

In her retirement, Dr. Gould devoted much of her time to volunteer work. She was a docent at the Delaware Art Museum for 25 years. She also spent 18 years as a listener for the crisis hot-line CONTACT. She became a member of the Academy of Lifelong Learning, where she taught courses in art history. She also rekindled her love for Chautauqua, N.Y.

Dr. Gould was a 65-year member of the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. During those years, she served in many capacities; on the Board of Deacons, the Board of Trustees, and the Session, of which she was clerk. For most of her long membership, she sang in the choir and also played in the hand bell choir. Her most recent service to her church was as a member of the Committee on Ministry of New Castle Presbytery.

She is survived by her daughters, Ann Rosen (Barry) of Bluffton, S.C., Mary Ellen Kimble (Robert) of Chautauqua, N.Y., and Ft. Myers, Fla., and Alison Marthinsen (Craig) of Toronto, Canada. She is also survived by her grandchildren David Rosen, Charles Kimble and Mary Lawler, and Ryan, Ian and Kevin Marthinsen; and by great grandchildren Nato, Jacob and Oscar; and by a sister, Ellen Hardy of Pomona, Calif., and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant or to Meeting Ground, P.O. Box 808, Elkton, MD, 21922 or online.   

To send online condolences, visit the Brandywine Valley Funeral Care website.