For 36 years Robert "Bob" Tetlow taught
landscape architecture at the University of California. He began his
lifelong teaching career first at Davis in 1952 and then at Berkeley in
1954 where he became known for his dedication as a teacher, described as
one of those people "absolutely committed to creating a
quality environment." As a practising landscape architect, his most
widely known work can be seen today at San Francisco's Strybing
Arboretum. He prepared ist master plan in 1959 and supervised its
implementation.
Born in Astoria, Oregon, Bob studied briefly at
Oregon State University before enlisting in the United States Navy in
1941. After his war service in the Pacific, he entered the University of
Oregon to earn his bachelor's degree in landscape architecture in 1949.
Seeking advanced work in landscape architecture, he came to the
University of California at Berkeley and gained a Master of Landscape
Architecture degree in 1951.
After brief employment with the City of San Jose, Bob
began his teaching career at UC Davis. But it was at Berkeley where he
dedicated his life as a teacher for 34 years. Bob's strength as a
teacher lay in the high standards which he set for himself and his
students. He taught a wide variety of courses in landscape design,
graphics and drawing and landscape construction. His teaching was
enriched by the breadth of his background in art, music and literature.
He was able to inspire his students to consider their work as an art
form integrally related with the classical arts. As a teacher he was
very demanding, and earned the respect of countless students over the
years. As an advisor to both graduates and undergraduates, he was
dedicated to ensuring a high quality and complete education for them,
sometimes amidst differences of opinion from those who wished to follow
a tangential program.
Bob chaired the Department of Landscape Architecture
from 1977 to 1981. This was a period of time when he asserted his strong
beliefs in design education and effectively bolstered the design
curriculum which had been sometimes overshadowed by regional and
environmental planning issues during the 1970s.
In addition to teaching, Bob Tetlow actively
participated in professional work outside the University. He was a
strong advocate of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
and the California Council of Landscape Architects (CCLA), serving both
in various capacities. For many years he served on accreditation teams
for ASLA where he was able to assert his high standards of education in
the evaluation of landscape architectural programs at other
universities.
His most notable professional work was at Strybing
Arboretum. In 1959 he completed its first-ever master plan which
organized a disparate collection of plants into the beautiful park-like
landscape we see today. All new paths and vistas an the great central
fountain were incorporated into the arboretum without removing a single
tree. Most recently he designed the Eugene Friend Gate at the north
entrance to Strybing. He also served as a trustee on Strybing's Board
from 1867 to 1981.
Bob Tetlow's research and professional work also
embraced the larger issues of environmental planning, landscape
conservation of the public domain, and the role of aesthetics in federal
land management. His dedication to developing means of reorganizing and
protecting the native values of our wildlands can be shown in a number
of significant examples. During 1970-1971, he was one of the principal
investigators for the U.S. National Water Commission, conducting a
research project on the aesthetic role of water in the landscape and in
developing related federal policy concepts. As a consultant to the
British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Canada, he did a monumental
1977 study on the visual (landscape) resources of the Northeast Coal
Study Area, a 10,000-square-mile tract in the magnificent wilds of the
Canadian Rocky Mountains and its environs. For a dozen years, up to
1984, he conducted landscape research for the U.S. Forest Service, one
piece of his effort being the conceptual landscape inventory system
developed in the vastness of the Northern Great Plains. Bob Tetlow's
recognition and respect for the values of the landscape were truly
comprehensive, ranging from beautifully designed construction details to
the broadest landscapes of North America.
Bob was a talented and accomplished artist, in both
photography and in watercolor. An exhibition of photographs co-authored
with David Arbegast in 1959, entitled "Man's impact on the Bay Area
Landscape," drew attention to environmental problems and helped
prepare the way for environmental activism in the Bay Area in the 1960s.
Although Bob held numerous exhibitions of his
exquisite watercolors throughout the Bay Area, he maintained a low
profile as an artist. Painting was his avocation and favorite pastime
and he enthusiastically shared his talent with anyone who wanted to join
him - students and colleagues alike.
Bob was a man who had a zest for life. His
intellectual curiosity about landscape architecture, the environment and
the arts was complemented by his skill in carpentry. His warm
hospitality in his carefully crafted home will be remembered fondly by
scores of students, friends and colleagues. And an empty chair remains
at the monthly meeting of his friends round the poker table. Hundreds of
students and his many colleagues who were touched by his influence will
always remember his congenial warmth and generosity.
Bob Tetlow is survived by his wife Peg, his daughters
Susan Hanlon, Alice Noyes, Mary Morner and his son David; by his
brothers Bill and Roger; and by six grandchildren.
RUSSELL A. BEATTY
R. BURTON LITTON JR.
MICHAEL LAURIE
