University of Wyoming
Lemuel Floyd Clarke was a prominent zoologist and academic administrator who significantly contributed to the field of zoology and higher education. Born on June 21, 1906, in Newton, Utah, Clarke earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Utah State Agricultural College in 1927 and 1931, respectively, and received a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1935. He joined the University of Wyoming's zoology faculty in 1935, eventually serving as department head from 1942 to 1968. Clarke founded the Jackson Hole Biological Research Station in Moran, Wyoming, and directed it from 1953 to 1972. In 1968, he became the associate dean of the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences until his retirement in 1976. Clarke was honored with the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award in 1965 and the Outstanding Former Faculty Award for the College of Arts and Sciences in 1996. He was married to Nina Robinson, with whom he had three children. Lemuel Floyd Clarke passed away on November 12, 1981.
Nina Evelyn Robinson Clarke, born on April 30, 1908, in Laketown, Utah, was an active supporter of her husband’s career and an advocate for education. After attending Brigham Young College, she moved to Laramie, Wyoming, in 1935, where she worked as the librarian at the University of Wyoming's Science Library. In 1993, Nina established the L. Floyd Clarke Fund in Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming. She passed away on March 7, 1998.
Lucille Clarke Dumbrill, born May 16, 1928, in Laketown, Utah, graduated from University High School in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1945. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1949 and a master's degree in 1951, both in mathematics from the University of Wyoming. Lucille and her husband Richard became active in the Wyoming State Historical Society, leading to her long career in historic preservation at UW and statewide. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. She received the UW Alumni Association’s Medallion Service Award in 2001. Lucille married Richard S. Dumbrill on June 20, 1949, and they had two children.
Evelyn Clarke Skordas, born March 2, 1931, in Logan, Utah, attended public schools in Laramie and the University of Wyoming. A talented flute player, she married James Skordas on June 17, 1950, and moved to Rawlins, Wyoming, where they raised four children. Evelyn passed away on March 3, 1972.
David Robinson Clarke, M.D., born November 23, 1943, in Laramie, Wyoming, graduated with honors from the University of Wyoming in 1965 and earned his Doctor of Medicine degree Magna Cum Laude from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 1969. He specialized in pediatric heart surgery, training in London before returning to Denver to serve as assistant director of the thoracic surgery residency program. He became chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the Health Sciences Center in 1980 and at Children’s Hospital in 1984. He was named a University of Wyoming Distinguished Alumnus in 1985. David married Deborah E. Makush in May 1980.
The L. Floyd Clarke Family papers contain family records and photographs of the Clarke, Robinson, Dumbrill, and Cooley families. This collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, articles, publications, photographs, and audio-visual material related to these families.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.
Any and all of the donor’s copyrights in the materials have been assigned to the University of Wyoming. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.
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Lucille Clarke Dumbrill, 10480, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Lucille Clarke Dumbrill donated her family’s papers to the American Heritage Center from 1998-2021.
The collection was processed by Ronda Frazier in November 2005 and updated by Jamie J. Greene in June 2018 and September 2022. This collection was re-processed by Erin Shadrick in July 2024.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, L. Floyd Clarke family papers, 1906-1999, Collection Number 400135, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.