Tamsen Anne Knowlton Meyer OBITUARY
Tamsen Anne Knowlton Meyer (Tammie) passed away on May 14th at Boulder Community Hospital after a fall. She was 85. Tammie’s adventures began on August 12th, 1938. Born to Dr. Horace Knowlton and Mrs. Madeleine Knowlton in Tampa FLA, she was the middle of three children. She grew up in Tampa, and based on old newspaper clippings was a very social girl. After graduating from Plant High School, she attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She graduated in 1960 with a degree in Zoology and Physiology. After college, Tammie returned to Florida to teach (and continue her lifelong obsession with finding shells on the beach). While there, she obtained her Masters in Education from Florida State University. This was the beginning of a long and successful career teaching Biology. In 1966, Tammie met and married Don E. Meyer after they became acquainted while working together on a Biology textbook. They lived in New York City until they moved to Boulder, CO in 1972. Don preceded her in death. Tammie began teaching in the Boulder Valley School District in the early 1970’s. She taught briefly at Broomfield Junior High School, then spent the rest of her career teaching Biology and AP Biology at Boulder High School. Tammie loved her students. She was a fixture at BHS athletic matches and school dances. She went to Prom too many times to be counted. Tammie retired in 2004. It was a very frequent occurrence for Tammie to be out and about in Boulder with her son or daughter and have former students approach her to say hello and tell her enthusiastically that she had been their favorite teacher. Tammie constantly strove to improve the learning experience for students in her classroom. She attended several summer institutes for teachers, both to improve student’s learning experiences and to stay up to date on emerging areas in Biology and new research techniques. One highlight for Tammie was being 1of 100 teachers chosen for Access Excellence, a national educational program giving high school biology teachers access to frontline scientists and the latest scientific information. Tammie received several honors for her teaching including the National Association of Biology Teachers “Outstanding Biology Teacher of Colorado” and the Tandy Prize for being “1of 200 of the brightest, most industrious minds in America and outstanding achievement in her field.” In her free time, Tammie enjoyed all cats in existence, reading, tennis, bridge, book club, DCPA theater, the Boulder Phil, making yummy desserts, spoiling her children and grandchildren and playing and traveling with her wonderful friends. Tammie was predeceased by her younger brother Horace and many spoiled cats. She is survived by her son Christian Meyer of Erie CO (Rebecca), daughter Madeleine Meyer Wilson of Longmont CO (Andrew), son Eric Meyer of Boulder (Cathryn), former daughter in law Michelle Meyer of Chicago, beloved sister Madeleine Courtney of Tampa, grandchildren Ian, Elle, Nicola and Patrick, and numerous wonderful nieces and nephews. A service for family and friends will be held at First Congregational Church in Boulder on July 20th at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to either The Humane Society of Boulder Valley or The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, CO, organizations that Tammie greatly admired and supported.
