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Louis Wilkins Holm ’38

Louis Wilkins Holm '38, June 14, 2008, at home in Davis, California. Louis received a BA from Reed in biology, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a PhD in zoology and biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin and taught at the university before taking positions at South Dakota State College and at Union College in New York. He returned to the University of Wisconsin in 1947, as assistant professor in veterinary science, and established a physiology division in veterinary science and a graduate teaching program in physiology. In 1949, he began his work in veterinary science at University of California, Davis, helping to found the School of Veterinary Medicine; he also served as assistant pharmacist in the Agricultural Experimental Station. Louis played a pioneering role in the establishment of the discipline of veterinary physiology at the university during the ’50s, and was promoted to professor of physiology in 1958; research interests centered on the physiology of pregnancy and the physiology of the newborn. In 1962, he was Fulbright lecturer in physiology at the University of New England in Australia. After leaving UC Davis, he pursued a second career as a speech pathologist with the Fairfield Suisun Unified School District in California, from which he retired in 1982. Louis enjoyed camping, hiking, exploring, and fishing all over the western U.S. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Ruth Leopold Holm; two daughters; two sons, including David L.Holm ’68; and five grandchildren.

Appeared in Reed magazine: November 2008