In Memory of Garth Rand MS’61, PhD’64

Garth was born in Boston, MA, on September 29, 1935, the son of Mary Morton Nisbet of Irvington, NY, and Arthur Gorham Rand of Portsmouth, NH. Garth spent his formative years in Wellesley Hills, MA, and Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. He was a graduate of Hastings High School in 1954, as well as the University of New Hampshire in 1958. He earned a PhD degree in food science and biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1964. His working life was spent as a professor of food science at the University of Rhode Island. He retired in 1998 after developing successful multidisciplinary research programs that focused on the use of enzymes and antibodies for ensuring the safety and quality of foods. Garth was the first recipient of the URI Faculty Research Award, the Chair and Professor Emeritus of the Food, Science, and Nutrition Department. He mentored dozens of graduate students, many of whom he maintained close ties with over the years. His sabbatical to Australia in 1972 led to the development of low lactose milk. As a founding member of the Fiberoptic & Biosensor Research Group, an interdisciplinary group including chemistry and physics, Garth was instrumental in the development of biosensor technology in the detection of food pathogens.

Garth met Cynthia Pollard at the University of New Hampshire during their senior year, and they married on September 3, 1960. They made their home and raised their family in Kingston, RI, after relocating from Madison, WI. In July 2001, Garth and Cindy sold their home of 38 years in Kingston, RI, and moved with their golden retriever (Nugget) to a new home in the Eastman Community in Grantham, NH, where they lived for 25 years before moving to Kendal at Hanover in 2018.

Garth enjoyed snowshoeing, hiking, and kayaking, as well as travel and Osher classes. He volunteered as a tree steward for the University of New Hampshire and actively participated in the governance of his community association of Eastman in Grantham. Garth was an avid genealogist, researching the family tree back to the Mayflower. He was a great lover of dogs starting with his childhood Boston terrier, Winnie, with many more to follow. Garth loved camping with extended family, facilitating slide shows from his vast collection of trips and historical family memories. He loved to combine his passion of food science with culinary experiments tested on his children — saffron ice cream, and morning toast with lobster butter left over from Christmas Eve lobster dinner, to name a few. Garth experimented with winemaking, using rhubarb and dandelions, to pair with his signature sourdough bread. Garth took in all the sights, sounds, and flavors of this life, and proudly celebrated the milestone of reaching his ninetieth birthday with a great party with family and friends on September 29, 2025. He proudly wore his University of Wisconsin 90th birthday alumni hat to the end.

Garth is survived by his wife of 65 years, Cynthia (Pollard) Rand, and their three children: Wesley Nisbet Rand (Deborah Corr-Rand) of Las Vegas, NV; Douglas Tenney Rand (Kimberly Zimmerman) of Jamaica Plain, MA; Karen Rand Brittain (Reg) of Williston, VT. Four grandchildren, Sarah Hale Rand Bonney (Dean) of East Hampton, CT; Jared Thomas Rand (Danielle Senechal Rand) of Las Vegas, NV; Joshua Cooper Rand and Sparrow Pollard Rand of Jamaica Plain, MA. Garth is also survived by his sisters, Mary “Polly” Streb of Wilmington, CT, and Martha Rand Nacke of Spokane, WA. Special mentions are cousin Theodore Shrady of Orleans, MA; sister-in-law Nancy Pollard of Keene, NH; brother-in-law, Charles P. “Chuck” Monahan (Marjory Owen) of Grantham, NH; and sister-in-law, Robin Pollard (Steven Bernier) of Sunapee, NH.

Garth was preceded in death by his cousin, Chris Shrady; brother-in law, Everett Pollard; and sister-in-law Beverly Pollard Monahan.

A private family burial will be held in Grantham, NH, a place close to Garth’s heart.