Memorial to Ronald Kinnison DeFord1902-1994

SAMUEL P. ELLISON, JR.4100 Jackson Avenue, Austin, Texas 78731

Ronald Kinnison DeFord died at age 92 on May 7, 1994, in Austin, Texas. He was one of the great stalwarts of the geological scene in both academia and industry. He was born in San Diego, California, on January 22, 1902, the son of George Washington DeFord and Amelie Stenger DeFord.He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Estella, and his first wife, Mary Amma Spence Hill.

He is survived by his second wife of 17 years, Marion Wier Rich DeFord; and four stepchildren, Nell Hill Gillespie of Beverly Hills, California, John Hill DeFord of Tulsa,Oklahoma, Stephen Geoffrey Rich of Phoenix, Arizona, and Lisa Rich Beck of Austin, Texas; eight step grandchil­dren and numerous great-grandchildren.

Ronald earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1921 and a master of science in geology in 1922 from the Colorado School of Mines. He taught geology there during 1921-1922 and chemistry during 1922-1924.

He joined the Midwest Refining Company as a resident geologist at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1923, and he was privileged to drive the stake in 1928 for the location of the discovery well at Hobbs Field, New Mexico, one of North America’s major oil fields.

During difficult times in the 1930s, the Depression years, when only one geologist was being retained at Roswell for the Midwest Refining Company, he decided to return to his alma mater, where he taught English as an assistant professor from 1931 to 1933.

Beginning in 1933 he was chief geologist of the Argo Oil Corporation in Midland, Texas. I first knew Ronald in Midland in 1944 and was impressed with his many activities with the West Texas Geological Society, judging local high school debates, and working toward development of a geological library for Midland.

Ronald married Mary Amma Spence Hill on January 2, 1937. During the West Texas sum­mers while he was teaching and supervising graduate students, Mary was his constant companion.

Ronald joined the University of Texas in 1948 as professor of geology and continued until retirement in 1972 and retirement again in 1987. He championed field geology, and students under his supervision mapped large areas of West Texas in the Trans-Pecos Texas and adjacent Mexico areas. Both doctoral and master’s theses of these areas were produced by his students and are now fundamental sources of geological information in the University of Texas geology library (the Walters Geological Library). In addition, Ronald taught courses including geology of fluids, advanced general geology, and advanced stratigraphy.

Ronald’s great contribution was the West Texas and Northern Mexico student field work,which he accomplished with the aid of his own personal Jeep station wagon.

On a field trip to Waco, Texas, I rode in Ronald’s Jeep and I recall as we were returning to Waco from the field we were cruising south on the main highway at a speed near the maximum for the Jeep. I was in the rear seat and one of the occupants leaned over to Ronald and said, “Do you want me to radio in to Waco for a landing?” No other words were spoken but there was a slight increase in the speed of the Jeep. We arrived safely in Waco.

The students he worked with and the teachers in the Department of Geological Sciences of the University of Texas were well aware of Ronald’s generosity. One time when he needed

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stenographic office help and the university apportionment for geological sciences had been exhausted, he personally hired the help he needed for a brief time. During 1952 he attended the International Geological Congress in Algeria and prevailed on Ed W. Owen to take his place at the University of Texas for a few weeks. He then prevailed upon Ed to teach geology at the Uni­versity of Texas, which Ed did for the following 20 years by commuting from San Antonio twice a week, without pay—not even gasoline money.

Ronald was a Life Fellow of the Geological Society of America, an honorary member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists since 1965 and president in 1942, a life member of the West Texas Geological Society in Midland, Texas, and a member of Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Gamma Epsilon, and Phi Kappa Phi. Ronald had been a Legion of Honor member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers since 1993 and a regular member since 1943, a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers since 1938, a Life Fellow of the American Associa­tion for the Advancement of Science since 1941, a registered professional engineer in Texas, consultant to the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology from 1948 to 1992, a mem­ber of the committee on the Tectonic Map of the United States, and a Fellow of the Texas Academy of Science, American Geophysical Union, and Société Geologique de France.

He was a member of the Austin Geological Society, a founding member of the Chancel­lor’s Council of the University of Texas, a member of the President’s Council of both the Col­orado School of Mines and the University of Texas, a life member of the University of Texas Ex-Students’ Association and the Eyes of Texas Society, and a Faculty Fellow of the Library Staff Association of the University of Texas. Ronald was a great patron of the arts and sup­ported, among other groups, the Midland Community Theater and the Laguna Gloria Art Museum in Austin. He was a member of the Umlauf Sculpture Garden in Austin, a founding member of the Austin Lyric Opera, the Festival Institute at Round Top, and the Austin Gilbert and Sullivan Society. In addition, he is well remembered for his ballroom dancing. He was elected in 1967 to the Austin Knights of the Symphony and was proclaimed King Brio VI of that organization in 1971.

Among the honors that he received were election to the Permian Basin Hall of Fame at the Museum of the Permian Basin in 1975; the Distinguished Achievement Medal of the Colorado School of Mines in 1963—the highest honor that may be bestowed upon a graduate of that school and thought of as an honorary doctoral degree, and Professor Extraordinario of La Uni­versidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 1968.

Ronald married Marion Wier Rich on May 29, 1977. When Marion and Ronald came to geological meetings he leaned on her arm or she guided the wheelchair to and from the meeting to the car. This faithful pair even sat in the geriatric section of the meetings of the Austin Geo­logical Association. Marion’s help permitted Ronald to take part in many of the activities that were geological.

Ronald lived to teach, but as a teacher he rarely dispensed knowledge directly. He used provocative questions and stimulated his classes to strive for original thinking. He was thought of as a geologist, oil finder, and author. He was a member of 11 American and foreign geologi­cal societies, recipient of numerous honorary awards, well known for his Trans-Pecos geologi­cal knowledge, and author of more than 40 published scientific articles. His natural rock color charts have sharpened and simplified rock descriptions. He was a member and later chairman of the American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature. His colleagues and students miss him. A great one has passed on. No one can replace RKD.

The (geological Society of ¡America3 3 0 0 Penrose Piece • P.O. Box 9 140 • Boulder, Colorado 8 0 3 0 J Printed in U.S.A. on Recycled Paper 12/94