John Manley Dennison, 80, went to be with his Lord on Monday, June 2, 2014 at his home. John M. Dennison was born in Keyser, West Virginia on April 13, 1934. He was the second of two children by Raymond Lewis Dennison and Edna Sturm Dennison. He was preceded in death by his brother, Byron Dennison.
An early interest in rocks and fossils on the dairy farm where he was raised led to a career in geology. He attended West Virginia University for his undergraduate degree. Schooling was interrupted by two years in the Army, where he served as a rocket engine test engineer at what is now Marshall Space Center. After leaving military service, he learned that two of the engines he worked with as weapons systems had also been diverted to become the second and third stage launch engines of the first U.S. satellite in 1957. After his military service, he went to the University of Wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. in geology in 1960. He then taught at the University of Illinois, the University of Tennessee, and finally, from 1967 until 2002, at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His investigations were varied, but focused on the strata of the Appalachians from Alabama to New York and their associated fossils, mineral resources, and the geologic history of their developing structures and topography. His research spanned over half a century of scientific publications, more than a hundred in number. He humbly received many professional honors.
From 1957 until 1972, he was married to Wilma Kay Bailey. That marriage resulted in a son, John Robert Dennison, who is now a physics professor at Utah State University. That lineage produced granddaughter, Sarah Dennison, and grandson, Jim Dennison.
In 1972, John M. Dennison married Sondra Wise, and that marriage endured until 1980. In 1989, he married Priscilla Anne Lechner and has resided since with her in Chapel Hill, NC. John and Priscilla Dennison have a daughter, Abigail Marie Dennison. They were married and worshiped these years at Ephesus Baptist Church in Chapel Hill.
John M. Dennison was the middle of a three-generation family of teachers in public colleges and universities, and he especially enjoyed working with students who were first experiencing the awakening of university education. Many of his students have become life-long friends, and several have continued collaboration with John as their own research careers matured. John thought it was important that the university environment interact with the world of larger scope, and he was a strong participant in professional and industrial geologic groups, reasoning that his teaching would become more relevant to the practical world.
He enjoyed field work and probably examined more of the strata of the Appalachians than any other geologist. A favorite saying of John's was that "Geology is made up of mostly people, a few rocks, and some interesting restaurants along the way." Science is a creation of the human mind, and the joy of being a scientist is the active participation in the personal development of knowledge.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Ephesus Baptist Church with Dr. Harry Byrd officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Durham Herald-Sun - June 4, 2014
An early interest in rocks and fossils on the dairy farm where he was raised led to a career in geology. He attended West Virginia University for his undergraduate degree. Schooling was interrupted by two years in the Army, where he served as a rocket engine test engineer at what is now Marshall Space Center. After leaving military service, he learned that two of the engines he worked with as weapons systems had also been diverted to become the second and third stage launch engines of the first U.S. satellite in 1957. After his military service, he went to the University of Wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. in geology in 1960. He then taught at the University of Illinois, the University of Tennessee, and finally, from 1967 until 2002, at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His investigations were varied, but focused on the strata of the Appalachians from Alabama to New York and their associated fossils, mineral resources, and the geologic history of their developing structures and topography. His research spanned over half a century of scientific publications, more than a hundred in number. He humbly received many professional honors.
From 1957 until 1972, he was married to Wilma Kay Bailey. That marriage resulted in a son, John Robert Dennison, who is now a physics professor at Utah State University. That lineage produced granddaughter, Sarah Dennison, and grandson, Jim Dennison.
In 1972, John M. Dennison married Sondra Wise, and that marriage endured until 1980. In 1989, he married Priscilla Anne Lechner and has resided since with her in Chapel Hill, NC. John and Priscilla Dennison have a daughter, Abigail Marie Dennison. They were married and worshiped these years at Ephesus Baptist Church in Chapel Hill.
John M. Dennison was the middle of a three-generation family of teachers in public colleges and universities, and he especially enjoyed working with students who were first experiencing the awakening of university education. Many of his students have become life-long friends, and several have continued collaboration with John as their own research careers matured. John thought it was important that the university environment interact with the world of larger scope, and he was a strong participant in professional and industrial geologic groups, reasoning that his teaching would become more relevant to the practical world.
He enjoyed field work and probably examined more of the strata of the Appalachians than any other geologist. A favorite saying of John's was that "Geology is made up of mostly people, a few rocks, and some interesting restaurants along the way." Science is a creation of the human mind, and the joy of being a scientist is the active participation in the personal development of knowledge.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Ephesus Baptist Church with Dr. Harry Byrd officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Durham Herald-Sun - June 4, 2014
John Manley Dennison, 80, went to be with his Lord on Monday, June 2, 2014 at his home. John M. Dennison was born in Keyser, West Virginia on April 13, 1934. He was the second of two children by Raymond Lewis Dennison and Edna Sturm Dennison. He was preceded in death by his brother, Byron Dennison.
An early interest in rocks and fossils on the dairy farm where he was raised led to a career in geology. He attended West Virginia University for his undergraduate degree. Schooling was interrupted by two years in the Army, where he served as a rocket engine test engineer at what is now Marshall Space Center. After leaving military service, he learned that two of the engines he worked with as weapons systems had also been diverted to become the second and third stage launch engines of the first U.S. satellite in 1957. After his military service, he went to the University of Wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. in geology in 1960. He then taught at the University of Illinois, the University of Tennessee, and finally, from 1967 until 2002, at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His investigations were varied, but focused on the strata of the Appalachians from Alabama to New York and their associated fossils, mineral resources, and the geologic history of their developing structures and topography. His research spanned over half a century of scientific publications, more than a hundred in number. He humbly received many professional honors.
From 1957 until 1972, he was married to Wilma Kay Bailey. That marriage resulted in a son, John Robert Dennison, who is now a physics professor at Utah State University. That lineage produced granddaughter, Sarah Dennison, and grandson, Jim Dennison.
In 1972, John M. Dennison married Sondra Wise, and that marriage endured until 1980. In 1989, he married Priscilla Anne Lechner and has resided since with her in Chapel Hill, NC. John and Priscilla Dennison have a daughter, Abigail Marie Dennison. They were married and worshiped these years at Ephesus Baptist Church in Chapel Hill.
John M. Dennison was the middle of a three-generation family of teachers in public colleges and universities, and he especially enjoyed working with students who were first experiencing the awakening of university education. Many of his students have become life-long friends, and several have continued collaboration with John as their own research careers matured. John thought it was important that the university environment interact with the world of larger scope, and he was a strong participant in professional and industrial geologic groups, reasoning that his teaching would become more relevant to the practical world.
He enjoyed field work and probably examined more of the strata of the Appalachians than any other geologist. A favorite saying of John's was that "Geology is made up of mostly people, a few rocks, and some interesting restaurants along the way." Science is a creation of the human mind, and the joy of being a scientist is the active participation in the personal development of knowledge.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Ephesus Baptist Church with Dr. Harry Byrd officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Durham Herald-Sun - June 4, 2014
An early interest in rocks and fossils on the dairy farm where he was raised led to a career in geology. He attended West Virginia University for his undergraduate degree. Schooling was interrupted by two years in the Army, where he served as a rocket engine test engineer at what is now Marshall Space Center. After leaving military service, he learned that two of the engines he worked with as weapons systems had also been diverted to become the second and third stage launch engines of the first U.S. satellite in 1957. After his military service, he went to the University of Wisconsin and earned his Ph.D. in geology in 1960. He then taught at the University of Illinois, the University of Tennessee, and finally, from 1967 until 2002, at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His investigations were varied, but focused on the strata of the Appalachians from Alabama to New York and their associated fossils, mineral resources, and the geologic history of their developing structures and topography. His research spanned over half a century of scientific publications, more than a hundred in number. He humbly received many professional honors.
From 1957 until 1972, he was married to Wilma Kay Bailey. That marriage resulted in a son, John Robert Dennison, who is now a physics professor at Utah State University. That lineage produced granddaughter, Sarah Dennison, and grandson, Jim Dennison.
In 1972, John M. Dennison married Sondra Wise, and that marriage endured until 1980. In 1989, he married Priscilla Anne Lechner and has resided since with her in Chapel Hill, NC. John and Priscilla Dennison have a daughter, Abigail Marie Dennison. They were married and worshiped these years at Ephesus Baptist Church in Chapel Hill.
John M. Dennison was the middle of a three-generation family of teachers in public colleges and universities, and he especially enjoyed working with students who were first experiencing the awakening of university education. Many of his students have become life-long friends, and several have continued collaboration with John as their own research careers matured. John thought it was important that the university environment interact with the world of larger scope, and he was a strong participant in professional and industrial geologic groups, reasoning that his teaching would become more relevant to the practical world.
He enjoyed field work and probably examined more of the strata of the Appalachians than any other geologist. A favorite saying of John's was that "Geology is made up of mostly people, a few rocks, and some interesting restaurants along the way." Science is a creation of the human mind, and the joy of being a scientist is the active participation in the personal development of knowledge.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Ephesus Baptist Church with Dr. Harry Byrd officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
Durham Herald-Sun - June 4, 2014
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