IN MEMORIAM
Ronald J. Marr, CPG-01255 Little Rock, Arkansas
December 29, 1929 - February 2, 2021 Member Since 1966
Reprinted from Smith Family Funeral Homes. “Ronald Joseph Marr, 91, of North Little Rock, passed from the life on February 2, 2021. He was born on December 29, 1929 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to the late Harry and Blanche Martin Marr. Mr. Marr built his career in the oil industry as a research geolo- gist, which afforded him the privilege to travel extensively throughout the world. His hobbies included photography, WWII history, and studying earth sciences. Ronald served his country with dignity and honor in the United States Army during the Korean War.
Left to mourn his passing are his loving and devoted wife of 65 years, Lauretta Massey Marr; children, Robert Marr of South Carolina, David (Kathleen) Marr of Texas and Thomas Marr of North Little Rock. Other survivors include grandchil- dren Rachel and Cassandra Marr; brother, Howard (Laura Mae) nMarr of Texas and a host of other family and dear friends around the world.
At Ronald’s request there will be no services. He will be laid to rest at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery.”
James Skehan, CPG-01505 Weston, Massachusetts November 1, 2020
Member Since 1967
Renowned geologist James W. Skehan, S.J.—founder of Boston College’s Geology Department, long-time director of the University’s Weston Observatory, and a dedi- cated researcher who was honored for his contributions to earth science by the naming a half-billion-year-old genus of trilobite after him - died on November 1 at the age of 97.
Born in Houlton, ME., Fr. Skehan was the oldest of seven children. His father worked for Western Union and his mother was a seamstress. The practice of their Catholic faith was an important part of family life and the rosary was regularly recited after dinner. As a teenager, he enjoyed being outside - camping and hiking - or participating in track and field activities. He maintained his love of the outdoors throughout most of life. He was part of a crew that cleared trees to make way for the erection of the Weston Observatory and was often photographed with his trusty pickaxe in hand.
He earned bachelor of science and master of arts degrees from Boston College in 1946 and 1947, respectively, and gradu- ated with a doctorate in geology from Harvard University in 1953. He then attended Weston College where he earned a bachelor of sacred theology, master of theology and licentiate in sacred theology. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Boston College in 1998.
Fr. Skehan’s scientific work focused on the geology of the Northeastern United States and the Avalon terrane, which extends from Belgium to the southern Appalachians. He
www.aipg.org
wrote the Roadside Geology of Massachusetts, and followed that with Roadside Geology of Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Fr. Skehan founded the Boston College Department of Geology (now Earth and Environmental Sciences) in 1958 and served as its first chairman. From 1973 to 1993, he directed Boston College’s Weston Observatory, a geophysical research observatory that monitors seismic activity across the globe and a frequent resource for the media in their coverage of earthquakes. He was named 1976 Teacher of the Year by the National Association of Geology Teachers.
A man of faith and science, his roles as priest and geologist were perhaps never more dramatically intertwined as when he co-organized a 1970 expedition to Surtsey, a new island that had formed off the coast of Iceland in the wake of a volcanic eruption. Funded by Boston College and NASA, the explora- tion provided dozens of scientists with a rich, living laboratory for observation. It also gave Fr. Skehan the opportunity to celebrate the first Mass ever on the island.
Fr. Skehan never saw conflict in his devotion to both science and faith, once telling the Boston College Chronicle: “If you look at a beautiful sunset, or how mountains are formed, or observe how continents move, you can view it either as science or as God speaking to you, or both. I do both. What I do as a scientist is no different from what I do listening to the cosmic word of God. It’s nice to have both [science and faith]—in fact, it makes everything so exhilarating. What could be more marvelous?”
In 2002, Mount Holyoke College geologist/paleontologist Mark McMenamin named a new genus of trilobite, Skehanos, in Fr. Skehan’s honor. Skehanos is a marine invertebrate that lived more than 500 million years ago and whose fossil was discovered in Quincy, Mass.
The naming of Skehanos was only one of the special ways Fr. Skehan was honored during his storied career. Author Sarah Andrews created a fictional Fr. Jim Skehan character for In Cold Pursuit, her mystery novel set in Antarctica. In 2012, a bronze bust in Fr. Skehan’s likeness was unveiled at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences on the occasion of his 89th birthday; the bust’s base, from the Le Masurier Family Quarry in North Chelmsford, Mass., is made from Chelmsford Granite, one of Fr. Skehan’s favorite rocks.
Fr. Skehan was the 2005 recipient of the American Institute of Professional Geologists’ Ben H. Parker Memorial Medal, honoring individuals with long records of distinguished and outstanding service in the field of geology, among other honors.
In 2013, his friends and colleagues established the James W. Skehan, S.J., Graduate Research Awards to offer finan- cial support for graduate student research in Earth and Environmental Sciences and at Weston Observatory.
Information in this obituary was excerpted from
TheBostonPilot.com posted on November 13, 2020 by Jack Dunn.
Honoring our members and their careers is im- portant to AIPG. Every member has contributed to the field in one way or another. Help us honor their memory and be sure to notify headquarters of the passing of a member.
aipg@aipg.org Apr.May.Jun 2021 • TPG 49
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