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(1942–2026)
Barbara Richey MacRoberts, age 83, passed away peacefully at her residence in Shreveport, Louisiana on April 10, 2026. Barbara was born June 30, 1942, in Tucson, Arizona. She lived a long, full life in which she pursued many interests. She was surrounded by her friends in her final months.
Barbara received a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from the University of Arizona. At the University of Arizona, she met her future husband, Michael H. MacRoberts. They married on May 16, 1964, in London, England. In 1964, Barbara and Michael conducted a six-month study of Barbary apes in Gibraltar. A few years later, they conducted a three-year study of the social organization of acorn woodpeckers in California. From 1969 to 1971, they studied gulls in Cumbria, England, and titmice in Oxford, England. They conducted research and published articles on animal behavior and communication, sociology and philosophy in science, and especially botany and ecology. Barbara made every step Michael did as she partnered with him throughout their academic and professional careers.
Barbara and Michael returned to Louisiana in the 1980s. The MacRoberts started their own consulting business, BogResearch. They began researching natural plant communities in Louisiana and East Texas. They conducted field work on the Kisatchie National Forest and the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas. They also worked on the Big Thicket in Texas and Eddie D. Jones Park, Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park, and Columbia Park in Caddo Parish. They also had a partnership with Louisiana State University, Shreveport, as associates of the LSUS Red River Watershed Management Institute and the Museum of Life Sciences until Michael’s death in 2021. Together, they had over 150 publications. Their botanical publications can be found at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org. The MacRoberts’s publications contributed to scientific knowledge within the disciplines they studied. Studies on prairies, bogs, and Sandylands on National Forest lands gave forest managers in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas insight into best practices for managing plant communities.
Barbara often mentored young botanists by providing feedback on research projects, editing manuscripts, or giving career advice. She was a gifted artists, and she documented her fieldwork in picture journals and pen-and-ink drawings of the native plants of Louisiana and East Texas. She loved visiting her friends, taking care of her house, plants, and her cat.
Barbara is proceeded in death by her husband and her parents. She is survived by brothers John Richey (Fran) of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and James Richey of Portland, Oregon; numerous nieces and nephews; many friends; and her beloved cat, Doggie.
A private celebration of life is planned with her closest friends. Cremation services will be under the direction of Aulds Funeral Home, Shreveport. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the animal charity of your choice.
(Lynn Jackson)