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IN MEMORIAM
F. Howard Kratzer
Professor Emeritus of Avian Sciences
UC Davis
1918 - 2006
Howard Kratzer was born in Baldwinsville, New York, where he grew up on his family’s farm and attended a one-room schoolhouse until 8th grade. In 1935, he graduated from Baldwinsville High School, entered Cornell University, and majored in poultry science. In 1940, he went to University of California (UC) Berkeley to attend graduate school in poultry nutrition. He received his PhD in 1944 and then joined the poultry department at Colorado A&M University as assistant professor and acting department head.
In 1945, he joined the faculty of the Poultry Husbandry Department at UC Davis. At that time, students attended both Berkeley and Davis to attain their agricultural degrees, and instructors also taught on both campuses. Howard met Georgina “Georgie” Garbutt, who was a graduate student and technician at UC Berkeley, and they married in 1946. At UC Davis, Howard taught courses in poultry nutrition and general nutrition. He was an undergraduate advisor in Animal and Avian Sciences and a graduate advisor to nutrition students. He served on nearly 100 thesis committees. From 1976 to 1981, he was chair of the Department of Avian Sciences at UC Davis.
Howard’s research career started in 1941 with a publication on gizzard erosion in collaboration with H. J. Almquist. During his career, he published over 200 papers in refereed journals. His research included the effects of nutrition on growth and development of poultry, nutritionally induced lesions, amino acid interactions, mineral requirements, mineral availability, and effects of chelating agents on mineral availability in practical diets.
In recognition of his research, Howard was awarded the National Turkey Federation Research Award, the American Feed Manufacturers Award, and the CPC International Award. He was named a fellow of the American Society for Advancement of Science in 1952, the Poultry Science Association in 1983, and the American Society for Nutrition in 1987. He served as associate editor on the Journal of Nutrition from 1969 to 1979. He served on the National Research Council (NRC) subcommittee on poultry nutrition, and a number of recommendations in the NRC publication Nutritional Requirements of Poultry are based on his research.
Howard and Georgia spent sabbatical leaves in New York City, England, Germany, Australia, and Brazil. Howard also worked for the United Nations in Cambodia and India, and for Volunteers for Cooperative Assistance in Bolivia. The Kratzers were extremely active in the Davis community. Howard and sons Paul and Charlie helped form and outfit Davis High School’s first soccer team. Howard and his Avian Sciences colleague Frank Ogasawara were co-coaches of a Little League Baseball team. The Kratzers were district leaders of the American Field Service high school exchange program during the 1960s and 70s. Their faith was important to them and they were involved in many programs at the Davis Community Church. A charity to which they donated considerable time was Loaves and Fishes. They were active supporters of International House at UC Davis, and hosted Howard’s many international graduate students at dinners in their home. These included Howard’s first Ph.D. student, Pran Vohra, who later became a faculty member in the department.
The Kratzer, Ogasawara and Vohra Scholarship Fund, established upon the retirement of Drs. Kratzer and Ogasawara, honors the contributions of Professors Howard Kratzer, Frank Ogasawara, and Pran Vohra to the avian sciences at UC Davis. The endowment income provides scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students studying Avian Sciences.
Howard died of cancer on October 8, 2006, at his home in Davis. He is remembered as humble, patient, generous, gentle, and kind, as well as for always being curious about how things work and why.
Francine Bradley
Kathryn Radke