Memorial to David H. Swann 1915—1968

H. B. WILLMAN Illinois State Geological Survey, Urbana, Illinois 61801 David H. Swann, geologist with the Illinois State Geo­ logical Survey, died suddenly May 25, 1968, in Mid­ land, Texas, where he was attending a meeting. He was 53 years old. Although Dave appeared to be in good health, he had suffered from diabetes for nearly forty years, and wasunable to withstand a heart sei- ure despite prompt medical attention. The son of the Reverend and Mrs. Walter M. Swann, Dave was born in Montevideo, Minnesota, May 15, 1915. Most of his early years were spent in St. Charles and Clinton, Iowa, where his father was a Congregational minister. Upon graduation from Spring­ field High School, Springfield, Ohio, in 1933, Dave entered the University of Michigan where he began studies in chemistry but soon changed to geology. He received his B.S. degree in 1937 and his Ph.D. in 1941. His academic honors included Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Sigma Xi. He was a Rackham Fellow. Dave taught at Brown University from 1940 to 1944 and while there spent one summer at the Cushman Laboratory for Foraminiferal Research in Sharon, Massa­ chusetts. After leaving Brown he was an oil geologist with the J. V. Wicklund Develop­ ment Company and worked largely in Kentucky. Dave joined the Illinois State Geological Survey in 1944 and served in the oil and gas section under Dr. A. H. Bell during the years of extensive development in the Illinois Basin. In 1951, he transferred to the stratigraphy and areal geology section to concentrate on basic stratigraphic problems, and soon became a leading authority on the stratigraphy of the Illinois Basin oil fields. Dave had almost total recall for details; he seemed to know the geology of every discovery well, and most of the disappoint­ ments, too. His help with exploration problems was based on an exceptionally broad understanding of regional sedimentation and structural relations. Dave became diabetic at the age of 1 5. He led an essentially normal, active life until the 1950s when the disability began to limit his field work. In the early 1960s, Dave first lost the sight of one eye, and then the other. For most of us, this would have been an insurmountable handicap. For Dave, it was little more than a tolerable nuisance. His response revealed his brilliance in a way that otherwise would not have been fully recognized. Dave had many incentives to continue his work,foremost being the encour­ agement of a devoted family, but also a strong sense of loyalty to the Survey and an undiminished enthusiasm for his research. Blindness gave him a clearer view of many ob­ jectives; he became more productive, was better organized, and thought more deeply. Dave could not endure to give up field geology entirely, and on a few occasions

189 190 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA directed the work of assistants from a car. He went on many field conferences, lectured at outcrops he had not seen for years, insisted on being led to others he had never seen, and commented freely on them, too. He attended the annual geological conventions and always returned home with enthusiasm and new ideas. At the meetings he called for no special attention, although his countless friends seemed always to be nearby. Dave was a rugged individualist and a forceful defender of ideas. At the same time, however, he was an outstanding team man in a program based largely on group re­ search. Dave’s research interests were remarkably broad, and he was thoroughly con­ versant with Midcontincnt problems from the to the . He is best known for his contributions in Mississippian stratigraphy, particularly a paper with A. II. Bell on the Illinois Basin published in the American Association of Petro­ leum Geologists’ symposium volume on the habitat of oil. He also wrote several short papers that culminated in a major report on the Chesterian Series. Other works were devoted to Devonian stratigraphy, stratigraphic classification, paleontology, and sedi­ mentation. He had long contemplated writing a major report on the geologic history of the Illinois Basin; he completed a summary of the subject and shortly after his death it appeared as the introductory article in a volume on Illinois Basin geology published by the Illinois and Indiana-Kentucky Geological Societies. During the last few years Dave devoted much of his time to the application of com­ puter methods to geological problems. He was attending a seminar and workshop on computer analysis of stratigraphic data, sponsored by the International Science Infor­ mation Service, at Midland, Texas, at the time of his death. He had largely completed, with others of the Survey staff, a program to produce base maps of any pari of the slate and to plot data for structure and isopach maps. Dave had a fine background in basic subjects, and he kept up to date on all of them. Few people spend the hours in literature review that Dave considered essential. When he lost his sight, many people, in addition to Survey assistants, read to him, in parti­ cular his wife, his mother, and Mrs. Lester Whiting. A longtime friend, the late Dr. Carl A. Bays, also a brilliant geologist, was a regular reader for Dave, and many stimulating ideas came from their scrutiny of new publications. Dave was active in the Unitarian Church. He sang in the choir, and after losing his sight, memorized the music so that he could continue, lie also sang in the University of Illinois Oratorio choral group, and learned to play the guitar and recorder after losing his sight. Dave became a fellow of The Geological Society of America in 1948. lie was an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists for which lie served as chairman of the Matson Award Committee. He also was a member of ihe American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Economic Pale­ ontologists and Mineralogists, the Paleontological Society, and the Illinois Geological Society. Dave married Judy Kierpiec of Detroit, Michigan, also a sludenl at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor in 1940. They had two children, a daughter, Sandra, and a son, Dana. They, along with his mother and his brother, Arthur, survive. Dave had the DAVID H. SWANN 191 inspiration of a happy life at home. His interests went far beyond his professional career and cultural pursuits. With his family he shared a deep concern over the social problems of the times and a willingness to help those less fortunate. We are grateful for his accomplishments, for his inspiring example, and above all for his friendship.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DAVID H. SWANN 1941 Wall structure of lavositidae lA bs.|: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 52, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1975. 1944 (with Q u i n n , a. W.) Bibliography of the geology of : Providence, R. I., Port and Industrial Development Commission, 26 p. 1945 Buried Mississippian slump blocks in the basal Pennsylvanian of Illinois [Abs. | : Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 56, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1204. 1946 (with Folk, S. H.) King oil field, Jefferson County, Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 119, 27 p. 1947 The Favosites alpenensis lineage in the Middle Devonian Traverse group of Michigan: Michi­ gan Univ. Mus. Paleontology Contr. 9, p. 235-318. 1948 Facies relations of Upper Chester formations of Illinois Basin [Abs.|: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 59, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1356. ------(with Atherton, Elwood) Subsurface correlations of Lower Chester strata of the Eastern Interior Basin, in Weller, J. M., ed., Symposium on problems of Mississippian stratigraphy and correlation: Jour. Geology, v. 56, no. 4, p. 269-287; Illinois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 135, 18 p. ------(with Atherton, Elwood) Correlations of Chester Series in Illinois and Indiana [Abs.j: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 32, no. 2, p. 300. 1950 Primary sedimentary structures of the Aux Vases sandstone [Abs.]: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 61, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1507-1508. ------(with Workman, L. K., and Atherton, Elwood) Summary of stratigraphy shown in geologic cross section of Illinois Basin, in Geologic cross section of rocks - Central Missis­ sippi to northern Michigan: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists, 32 p. 1951 (and others) Future oil possibilities of the Eastern Interior Basin: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 35, no. 2, p. 486-498; Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 169, 13 p. ------Waltersburg Sandstone oil pools of lower Wabash area, Illinois and Indiana: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 35, no. 12, p. 2561-2581; Illinois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 160, 21 p. 1952 (with Bell, A. H., and Kline, Virginia) Oil and gas developments in Illinois during 1950, in Statistics of oil and gas development and production covering 1950: Am. Inst. Mining Mctall. ling., v. 5, p. 51 -96; Illinois Geol. Survey Illinois Petroleum 64, 46 p. 1953 Osage deltaic deposits in southwestern Illinois [Abs.|: Geol. Soc. America Bull., v. 64, no. 12, pt. 2, p. 1480-1481. 1954 (with Collinson, Charles, and Willman, H. B.) Guide to the structure and Paleozoic strati­ graphy along the Lincoln Fold in western Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Guidebook Ser. 3, 75 p. 1955 (with Mcl'arlan, A. (’., Walker, F. H., and Nosow, lidmund) Some old Chester problems - Correlations of Lower and Middle Chester formations of western Kentucky: Kentucky Geol. Survey Bull., ser. 9, no. 16, p. 5-24. ------(and Bell, A. H.) Oil and gas, in Wanless, H. R., Pennsylvanian rocks of Eastern Interior Basin: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 39, no. 9, p. 1753-1820; 1962, revised, in Pennsylvanian system in the United States-A symposium: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geolo­ gists, p. 4-59. 192 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

1956 Lower Chester rocks of southwestern Illinois: Illinois Geol. Society Field Trip Guidebook (1956), 15 p. ------Effective seals above Chester sandstones of the eastern interior (Illinois) Basin [Abs. ]: Oil and Gas Jour., v. 54, no. 53, p. 142. ------(with Lowenstam, H. A., and Willman, H. B.) The Niagaran reef at Thornton, Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Guidebook Ser. 4, 19 p. 1958 (and Bell, A. H.) Habitat of oil in the Illinois Basin, in Weeks, L. G., ed., Habitat of oil: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., p. 447-472. ------(with Collinson, Charles) Mississippian rocks of western Illinois: Field Trip Guidebook No. 3, Geol. Soc. America, p. 21-52. ------(with Potter, P. E., Nosow, Edmund, Smith, N. M., and Walker, F. H.) Chester cross-bedding and sandstone trends in Illinois Basin: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 42, no. 5, p. 1013-1046. ------(with Willman, H. B., and Frye, J. C.) Stratigraphic policy of the Illinois State Geological Survey: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 249, 14 p. 1959 (with Fisher, R. W., and Walters, M. J.) Visual estimates of grain size distribution in some Chester sandstones: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 280, 43 p. 1960 (with Atherton, Elwood, Emrich, G. H„ Glass, H. D., and Potter, P. E.) Differentiation of Caseyville (Pennsylvanian) and Chester (Mississippian) sediments in the Illinois Basin: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 306, 36 p. 1961 (and Willman, H. B.) Megagroups in Illinois: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 45, no. 4, p. 471-483. 1963 Classification of Genevievian and Chesterian (Late Mississippian) rocks of Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Rept. Inv. 216, 91 p. 1964 Late Mississippian rhythmic sediments of Mississippi Valley: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geolo­ gists Bull., v. 48, no. 5, p. 637-658. ------(with Bell, A. H., Atherton, Elwood, and Buschbach, T. C.) Deep oil possibilities of the Illinois Basin: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 368, 38 p. 1965 (and Lineback, J. A., and Frund, Eugene) The Borden Siltstone (Mississippian) delta in southwestern Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Circ. 386, 20 p. ------(with Carpenter, G. L., and others) Developments in east-central states in 1964: Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists Bull., v. 49, no. 6, p. 686-699. ------(with Meents, W. F.) Grand Tower Limestone (Devonian) of southern Illinois: Illinois Geol. Survey Ciic. 389, 34 p. 1968 A summary geologic history of the Illinois Basin, in Geology and petroleum production of the Illinois Basin, a symposium: Illinois and Indiana-Kentucky Geological Societies, p. 3-22.