Frances was also known as a cook and published a wild game cookbook near the end of her life. Her secret for pie crusts was the use of bear lard. Her readers occasionally sent her bear lard gained from their own kills. Wildfoods Cookbook: From the Fields and Forests of the Great Lakes States was published in 1994, when she was 84, and illustrated by her daughter, Elva Hamerstrom. By training hundreds of research assistants (nicknamed "gabboons") and by writing formal scientific papers and informal books, Hamerstrom and her husband inspired many generations of future naturalists. Home life The Hamerstroms lived in an 1850s-era, Plainfield, Wisconsin home. Never completed, it lacked running water and was heated by wood-burning stoves. Originally designed as a stage coach stop and community center, the structure had an incomplete ballroom on the second floor. The Hamerstroms used it as a storage area for specimens and data collected from their field research over many years. The Hamerstroms raised two children, Alan and Elva, in their home. Hamerstrom life was far from ordinary. Fran confided to a friend who visited the house years later that "we had all the luxuries (such as a first-rate ornithological library) and none of the necessities". Frederick and Frances were married for 59 years, until he died from pancreatic cancer in 1990. She was an atheist. Later years Following her husband's death, Frances visited Saudi Arabia, Africa, and South America. On an expedition in Peru, at age 86 Hamerstrom broke her hip and was evacuated by helicopter. She returned to the area the following year to observe hunting practices on a tributary of the Amazon River. Frances Hamerstrom died at a Port Edwards, Wisconsin nursing home August 29, 1998. She was 90. Legacy and honors In 1961, Frances Hamerstrom received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Carroll University (then, Carroll College). In 1970, both the Hamerstroms received the National Wildlife Reservation Award. In 1992, Frances Hamerstrom received the Notable Wisconsin Authors Award from the Wisconsin Library Association. In 1996, both the Hamerstroms were inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. The Prairie Grouse Technical Council and the Raptor Research Foundation offer lifetime achievement awards in the name of Frances and Frederick Hamerstrom. References External links "Fran Hamerstrom: A Passion for the Wild and Free", Wisconsin Academy Review (Summer 1995). "5 facts about Frances Hamerstrom wildlife biologist, hunter, and savior of the