Barbara Hibbs Blake, age 82, of Greensboro, NC, died on August 18, 2019 of stroke complications.

Born August 6, 1937, in Roseburg, Oregon, and raised in Portland, Oregon, Barbara graduated from Portland State University and then earned her Ph.D. at Yale University.

Her professional career included appointments at Drew University (NJ), Queen Mary College at the University of London (England), Bennett College (Greensboro, NC), and University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Barbara was active in Sigma Xi, a research honor society for scientists and engineers, and in the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM), serving as Editor-in-Chief and other leadership positions for the Journal of Mammalogy . Barbara was presented with the Hartley H.T. Jackson Award in 2007 for her long and outstanding service to ASM and attended every annual ASM meeting, including the June 2019 meeting.

Her greatest joy was spending time with her family and her dog Buddy, especially during the family's annual trip to Cape Cod.

As a biologist who studied chipmunks, voles, and bats, Barbara was drawn outdoors to walk, watch birds, and observe nature. She delighted in the opera and theatre. Her active mind kept busy with editing papers, doing Sudoku, and correcting the grammar of others.

She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Anthony Blake of Greensboro, NC; daughters Virginia Blake of Belmont, MA (and wife Jackie MacCallum) and Elizabeth Blake (and husband Udaya Kogalur) of Winston-Salem, NC; siblings Mary Hibbs Treacy of Reidsville, NC; George Hibbs of McMinnville, OR; and Michael Ramsby of McMinnville, OR; sister-in-law Mary Blake Bicknell and husband William Bicknell; granddaughters Jessica, Hope, and Alysia; a large circle of beloved extended family; and her cherished dog Buddy.

Private funeral and interment will be held in Lexington, MA. A memorial service will follow in Greensboro, NC (details will be announced on CaringBridge).

For those wishing to make a donation in Barbara's memory, contributions may be made in her name to the Anthony and Barbara Blake Scholarship Fund at Guilford College, Greensboro NC.