David Burton Slemmons

David Burton “Burt” Slemmons, 94, died on May 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born December 31, 1922 in Alameda, California to Gladys Dorothy (Hinton) Slemmons and Claude Hayes Slemmons. He grew up in Oakland and graduated from Fremont High School. During World War II he served in the Army and 10 months in the Corps of Engineers in Japan and Korea during the Occupation. He met the love of his life, Ruth Marillyn Evans, at a USO dance and they were married in 1946. Ruth worked to support him while he completed his B.S. in Economic Geology in 1947. He received a PhD in Geology in 1953 from the University of California Berkeley. They moved to Reno, Nevada where he taught at the University of Nevada Reno from 1951 to 1989. During that time, he supervised over 50 masters and doctoral students, and conducted research in earthquake geology and engineering, authoring or co-authoring over 200 professional papers. He was always dedicated to furthering his students’ education and experience, securing grants and hiring them as assistants. He also worked as a consultant to determine earthquake hazards for the Alyeska pipeline, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the International Atomic Energy Commission, and for projects all over the world. He established the Nevada State Seismological Research Laboratory and the Center for Neotectonic Studies at UNR.

After his retirement he and Ruth moved to Las Vegas. They continued to travel all over the world. He enjoyed fishing, swimming, gardening, investing, and photography, and had a lifelong love of geology and seismology. He was known for his enthusiasm, friendliness, generosity, humor, appetite, love of storytelling, and sense of adventure.

He is survived by his children, David Robert Slemmons of Norman, Oklahoma, and Mary Anne Slemmons (Jim Baldwin) of Juneau, Alaska; grandchildren Sarah Mabry Agnew (Brendan) of Norman, Oklahoma, Claire Geneva Slemmons Baldwin (Brian McHenry) of Juneau, Alaska, Cody Shawn Robert Baldwin of Juneau, Alaska, and David Michael Slemmons of Norman, Oklahoma, and great-granddaughter Marian Rose Slemmons Agnew of Norman, Oklahoma. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Marillyn Slemmons and his brother Claude Neil Slemmons.

A memorial will be held on Tuesday, May 9 at 2:00 pm at Grace Presbyterian Church, 1515 W. Charleston Blvd., Las Vegas.