Eugene Elliott Photograph Album, 1939-1941

Eugene Willis Elliott was born on May 29, 1916 in Longmont, Colorado. His family moved to Billings, Montana in his early childhood. Eugene graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1934 and enrolled at the University of Montana in Missoula (then called Montana State University) the following year where he studied Forestry and was active in the Forestry Club. He wanted to become a U.S. Forest Service Ranger, but the USFS required 20/20 vision at that time. Due to scarlet fever contracted in his youth, Eugene needed glasses, so he switched his major to botany and graduated in 1941 with honors.

Eugene was in the process of getting his master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin when he was drafted into the Army during World War II. He served as a medic stateside until December 1945. In 1946, he married Myrtle Jackson and returned to graduate school, this time at the University of Iowa, where he earned his PhD in mycology (the study of fungi).

After a few years of employment with Monsanto Chemical and Shell Oil companies, Eugene accepted a position as an assistant professor of chemistry at Eastern Montana College. He continued to teach there until 1981, and he spent his summers during those years volunteering with the U.S. Forest Service to provide visitor information for the Custer National Forest out of Red Lodge, Montana. In 1988, Eugene authored and photographed a book called Flowers Along the Beartooth Highway.

Additional career highlights include his time as journal editor of the Montana Academy of Sciences, his designation as Professor Emeritus of Eastern Montana College, and his membership in the Sigma Xi Research Science Honorary.

Eugene died on January 30, 2014. He is survived by his daughter Cheryl Heser and son Randolph Elliott.