[BSW] Recent Obituaries: Harold Robinson and Cris Fleming

[KATHY BILTON]

Harold Robinson, Smithsonian curator

Harold Robinson, 88, curator of botany at the Smithsonian Institution’s 
National Museum of Natural History, died Dec. 17 at a hospital in 
Arlington, Va. The cause was a stroke, said a friend and colleague, 
Laurence Dorr.

Mr. Robinson, an Arlington resident, was born in Syracuse, N.Y. He came to 
Washington and joined the Smithsonian staff in 1962. He retired in 2011 
and became curator emeritus, continuing to work part time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/community-deaths/2021/01/13/3cf3290a-55b4-11eb-a931-5b162d0d033d_story.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_E._Robinson

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Cris Fleming, Educator and Naturalist

Cris loved children and was a gifted teacher. She began her career 
teaching nursery school, including many years at Green Acres School in 
Rockville, Maryland, where she taught with the progressive education 
values of learning through experience. In 1975, she initiated the much 
loved after-school and summer nature programs at the Audubon Naturalist 
Society at Woodend, eventually becoming the Director of Environmental 
Education.

Cris’ career interest later shifted to botany. She led numerous field 
trips and classes (now enthusiastically sharing her knowledge of the 
natural world with adults), establishing herself as an accomplished and 
respected botanist and field instructor. During this time, she also 
received a Certificate of Accomplishment in the USDA Graduate School 
Natural History Field Studies Program.

https://www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Cristol-S-Fleming?obId=19756039#/obituaryInfo
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=cristol-fleming-cr
is&pid=197575980&fhid=2159