Laurence R. Draper

Memorial services for Professor Emeritus Laurence R. Draper, 81, of Lawrence, Kansas will be held at 10:00 am Saturday, October 22, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Bob Billings Parkway and Iowa Street, Lawrence.
Dr. Draper died Sunday September 18, 2011 at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in the comfort of his family.
He was born in New York City on April 14, 1930, the son of Alfred Avery and Margaret Anderson Draper. He grew to maturity following the events of WW II, modeling airplanes and walking the streets with the civil patrol. He had a passion for music throughout his schooling that continued for the remainder of his life. He also worked in the clinical laboratory of his father, a bacteriologist. It was his claim that this exposure prepared his immune system for nearly any onslaught – and it is true that he very rarely was ill.
He graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Biology, and he was awarded his PhD in 1956 by the University of Chicago in Microbiology. His research in bioradiation under Dr. and Dr. Taliaferro is still the standard by which many students currently learn immunology.
From 1957 until 1968 he was first a Resident Research Associate at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, and then a Research Biologist for the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md.
In 1968 he joined the faculty at the University of Kansas and continued teaching and research for the next forty years as professor in the departments of Microbiology and then Molecular Biosciences. He served as President in faculty governance. In addition to teaching, he became a Faculty Advisor in 1998 and continued those responsibilities until his death.
He earned many prestigious teaching awards throughout his career including the Ned N. Fleming Trust Award for Teaching Excellence, the J. Michael Young Academic Advising Award, and (three times) the Mortar Board Outstanding Educator Award. He had a true passion and gift for teaching by transfer of fascination.
After retiring in 2008, he continued advising and teaching honors classes at the University of Kansas.
As well as enjoying frequent stays with his far-flung relatives, he loved to travel, including a recent trip with family and friends to his favorite spots in Holland. His beloved dog Kia preceded him in death.
Survivors include one sister, Diane Draper Walker of Huntington, New York; two sons, Paul Avery Draper and Keith Allen Draper, of Austin, Texas, and two grandsons.
The family suggests memorials to the University of Kansas Endowment via Prof. Stephen Benedict, Department of Molecular Biosciences.