IN MEMORIAM

 WILLIAM TURNER ELBERTY, JR., PROFESSOR EMERITUS

 

Now that the holidays are behind us and the academic cycle is about to turn again, it is our wish to share with those who do not already know some sad news and some memorial thoughts.

 

On December 12, 2000, Dr. William Turner Elberty, Jr., St. Lawrence Professor Emeritus, died in his sleep while visiting his son Bill in Vermont. Dr. Elberty's passing deprives us all of more than half a century of tradition and experience in both Geology and Geography at this institution. We extend our deepest sympathy to Joann and sons Bill, Michael and Daniel and their families. A memorial service was held at the Universalist Church in Canton.

Bill Elberty was born in West Orange, New Jersey, March 8, 1930. Bill graduated from St. Lawrence in 1953 and went on to Dartmouth for a Masters degree which was completed in 1955. In 1957 he completed his doctoral studies at Indiana University and in the Fall he began a 41-year teaching career in Geology and Geography at St. Lawrence.

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Each of us has memories of Bill Elberty that are occasioned by the times our ships passed his. I know very little of his early years in the department but his mark was already on it even as a loyal protégé of Doc Bloomer. Bill and some students, just who he never discussed, had already created the Geology Department logo of hammer and field boot surrounded by the miner's silver ring. This has been the logo of the Geology Club and the ring has been worn ever since by students who accept our honor code. You can find that logo described in a Bob Bates "Rock Column" in a late 1960's issue of Geotimes. It symbolizes the hard work of the field geologist as well as the integrity and self-discipline of the honor code.

 

Some will recall Bill in his academic regalia leading processions as University Marshall which he did with grace for 17 years. Others remember Bill as Chair of the Geology and Geography Department between the Bloomer and Romey years. He was faculty advisor to his fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega. He was the first person I met at St. Lawrence and the reason I chose to work here. For many, many students Doc Elberty was the right teacher at the right time. On two occasions the senior class voted him Owen D. Young Teacher of the Year. Bill was a fine geologist who loved the field, a great student of the Earth, a friend to most, a man of great conviction and a loyal Laurentian.