16.xii.'11
Hello All,
In 1956 and 1957 I lived on Hawthorn
Street in Cambridge, Mass. Prof. R. A. Daly,
whose house then was kitty-corner on the same
street, learned that he was terminally
ill. Specifically he requested not to be
visited. He wished to die only in the company
his family and closest of friends. A few months
later, in September 1957, he was gone.
I did not know JBT well. We first met
on an NEIGC fieldtrip in 1956 or 1957. A few
years later, as a graduate student from
1960-1961, I audited his "Phase" course which was
an extraordinary experience. Our subsequent
meetings were rare - an occasional NEIGC trip or
at GSA. Aside from being a superb lecturer, JBT
was always friendly and accessible. He was, in
short, an inspiring mentor.
The celebration of JBT's (upcoming) 90th
was a fine event that brought together many of us
older-timers, of whom some truly "came out of the
woodwork." What saddened me, however, was the
Skype link. To have a last view of the great
petrologist who influenced us so profoundly,
dressed in a hospital gown and on his deathbed,
was deeply disturbing. It diluted all those
wondrous memories from the outcrop to the
classroom. It is those latter memories that I
shall evermore recall. Thank you for them Jim, they are well anchored.
Tomas Feininger
Québec
