Ida Wenefrida, 64, a plant biologist and accomplished researcher at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, passed away from peritoneal cancer on March 27.

Wenefrida was known for her outgoing and friendly personality, charity work, and her dogged determination, which became a positive attribute in the lab.

“If she had an idea, she stayed with it a long time, and she was not easy to sway,” said her husband of 34 years, Herry S. Utomo, a geneticist and plant breeder with the AgCenter and Wenefrida’s research partner.

In recent years, Wenefrida and Utomo received recognition for the development of Frontière, a high-protein, low-glycemic index rice variety that shows promise in helping diabetics and improve nutrition in countries that depend on rice as a staple food. Developing the rice and proving that it maintained a high protein level when grown at a variety of locations took more than eight years of work, Utomo said.

The team they led received the 2022 Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station Tipton Team Research Award for their research.

“I don’t think we can say enough about how everybody felt about Ida here at the station, both as a co-worker and collaborator and as a personal friend,” said Steve Linscombe, the station’s retired director and rice breeder, at the station’s annual field day in June, which was dedicated to Wenefrida.

Born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Wenefrida was born into a large family and was the oldest of nine. She developed her work ethic and leadership skills while helping around the house, Utomo said.

She immigrated to the United States to earn her master’s and doctoral degrees after studying agricultural science at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture in Indonesia.

Utomo and Wenefrida met at a university-based orientation program in Kentucky where Indonesian students improved their English and other skills before starting their graduate studies in the United States. They were together for a few weeks before Utomo proposed.

“I said to her, ‘We’re serious. Let’s go ahead and do it,”' Utomo said.

They married soon after, and Wenefrida worked on her master’s degree in plant pathology at Mississippi State University while Utomo studied for a doctorate at LSU. Wenefrida then earned a doctorate at LSU in plant health in 1996 and joined the AgCenter Rice Research Station as a postdoctoral researcher.

Wenefrida and Utomo have a daughter, Melissa Utomo, who lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Wenefrida co-founded the Indonesian Diaspora Foundation, a nonprofit designed to help Indonesian immigrants socially and economically. She raised money for the Indonesian community in several areas of the U.S. after natural disasters and tragedies.

At Christmastime, she insisted on walking around downtown Baton Rouge and giving money to people living on the streets, Utomo said.

“She was a woman with principles, and I admired her because of that,” Utomo said.

Because of her accomplishments and charitable work, Wenefrida was named one of the Top 20 Global Woman of Excellence in 2020 by the American Multi Cultural Ethnic Coalition.

Just as she was in the lab, Wenefrida was meticulous at home, too. She encouraged Utomo and their daughter to tidy up before leaving. She insisted on making the bed every day.

Utomo is continuing research into high-protein, low-glycemic index rice, and at home he continues making his bed every day.

“That helped me feel like she was part of me,” Utomo said, “and everything looks normal.”

Kyle Peveto is the editor of Louisiana Agriculture.

This article appears in the summer 2023 edition of Louisiana Agriculture.

Ida Wenefrida. Photo provided by Herry Utomo