Thrower, Stella Lavinia (née Beckett)   (1925 - 2015)

Born on 2 March 1925 Colac, Victoria, died 21 March 2015 on the Isle of Man in UK (aged 90 years).

She did a PhD at University of Melbourne, Faculty of Science, in 1964 titled 'Factors influencing translocation in soybean'.

She has collections around Melbourne from 1958 to 1983, an obituary in the Melbourne The Age on 6/9/1980 suggests that her father lived there until 1980. She may have visited him regularly over the years, while living overseas.

Her papers are held by the Isle of Man Museum include: "three files of Stella L. Thrower's work on the insect Order Hymenoptera in the Isle of Man, collated by her husband Prof Lyle B. (Peter) Thrower after she stopped working on the project in 2012, aged 88".

At some stage in her life she lived and worked in Hong Kong, and one publication lists her institution as "Department of Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong." She published 'Plants of Hong Kong' in 1971 in both a Chinese language and English language version.

Her own obituary reads:

Thrower. Stella Lavinia B.Sc, Ph.D, LOSc, FRES.
Suddenly on Saturday 21st March 2015 (aged 90 years).
For 55 years the beloved wife, dearest friend and supporter of Lyle Boyce Thrower (aka Peter). Private cremation and interment in Santon Church Graveyard. My sincere thanks go to members of the IOM Ambulance Service for their outstanding efforts to revive my Wife: LBT.

THROWER. (Prof) Lyle Boyce (aka Peter) OBE, M.Sc., Ph.D., D.Ag.Sc., D.Sc. (hc), on Tuesday 12th January 2021, after a short illness, at his home in Ballasalla.
Born Melbourne, Australia 21 March 1923, son of Lyle Edward Thrower and Elizabeth Ellen (née Boyce).
Served 2nd Australian Imperial Force during 2nd World War.
For 55 years the loving and beloved husband of Stella Lavinia, who died 21 March 2015, aged 90 years.
"How fortunate I was to have married Stella".
From 1985 we lived in the Isle of Man.
Our gratitude is due to many friends and acquaintances who made our retirement here so truly rewarding and happy.
Private cremation followed by private interment in Santon Churchyard (where we carried out an extensive biological survey)

Source: Extracted from:
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Sat 14 Mar 1925 Page 17 Family Notices
https://avh.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?q=collector_text%3A%22THROWER%2C+S.%22#tab_mapView
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1980.tb03185.x
https://imuseum.im/search/collections/archive/mnh-museum-672636.html
Plants of Hong Kong Thrower, Stella L. Published by Longman, Hong Kong, 1971, Language: Chinese / English
https://www.legacy.com/uk/obituaries/iomtoday-uk/name/stella-thrower-obituary?id=42437790
The Age, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Saturday, September 6, 1980, Page 114
https://www.legacy.com/uk/obituaries/iomtoday-uk/name/lyle-thrower-obituary?id=42262880
Portrait Photo: seeking photo.

Collecting localities for 'Thrower, S.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 155 specimens