William T Kirchgasser

William (Bill) Thomas Kirchgasser, 79 of Colton, NY (formerly of Potsdam), died suddenly at the ER of the Canton-Potsdam Hospital on January 14, 2019. The service for William will be Saturday, June 15, at 2:00 PM at the Unitarian Universalist church, 3 1/2 E. Main St. in Canton.

Born February 17, 1939 and raised in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Bill graduated from Nether Providence High School in 1957. During childhood trips to the Western states with his parents and brothers and Boy Scout Jamborees he developed his lifelong interest in geology. He received his BA in Geology from Union College in 1961 and his MS and Ph.D. in Geology from Cornell University, with a specialty in Paleontology.

After graduation from Cornell, Bill received a Fulbright Scholarship in 1967 to research and write with Professor Michael House of the University of Hull in Yorkshire, England. His collaboration with Professor House continued until the publication in 2008 (posthumously for Professor House) of what Bill’s family affectionately called the “Magnum Opus” but was otherwise titled, “Late Devonian Goniatites (Cephalopoda, Ammonoidea) from New York State.”

After a year of teaching at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz, in 1969 Bill began his long and distinguished career as a Professor in the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam, Chairing the Department from 1985 to 2000, and retiring in 2004 as a Full Professor. Bill’s specialty was the study of rock layers of the Devonian age. He began in the Finger Lakes region of New York State with the study of 370 million to 415 million year old rocks along with a changing fossil content. His career spanned the introduction of the understanding of plate tectonics where large continents broke into smaller fragments and moved elsewhere. He and a group of international Devonian workers took fossil collecting field trips all over the world, including trips to China, Siberia and Australia. There are two Devonian fossils named in his honor — the goniatite subspecies, koenenites lamellosus kirchgasseri, found in West Virginia, and the conodont species polygnathus kirchgasseri, found in France and Germany. Bill also taught a general course called “Ancient Life” for non-geology majors to acquaint them with evolutionary changes over geologic time, and he and a psychology professor collaborated to teach a seminar on evolution to students in their senior year.

Named a Professor Emeritus upon his retirement, Bill continued researching, writing, lecturing, doing field work and going to his office nearly every day. He donated his specimen collection to the Geology Department at SUNY Potsdam and, at the time of his death, and was arranging to donate portions of the collection to the New York State Museum in Albany and the Paleontological Research Institute in Ithaca, NY, where he was recently named a Member of the Board of Trustees.

A lifelong music lover, Bill played the violin, fiddle, piano and saxophone and regularly attended performances of the Orchestra of Northern New York. He served as Vice Chair of the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Foundation Board, was a Member of the SUNY Potsdam Foundation Board, and held many leadership positions at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canton. He enjoyed traveling, reading (especially the New York Times), walking, watching sports and spending time at home with Linda and their dog Tully on Arbuckle Pond.

He is survived by his wife Linda Seramur of Colton, NY; his daughter Alison Kirchgasser, daughter-in-law Sally DeGan and grandson Parker Gordon of Winchester, MA; his brother Wayne Kirchgasser of Downingtown, PA; his step-daughter Lisa Smith, her husband Dave Smith and grandson Jackson of Portland, OR; his ex-wife and mother of his daughters Marjorie Hess; his late long-time partner Betsy’s sons Andy and Tim Northrop and their families; his nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews; his many friends and colleagues and the generations of students he inspired. He was predeceased by his daughter Karen Kirchgasser, his partner Betsy Northrop, and his brother John Kirchgasser.

He inspired his friends and family to live life to the fullest, to be curious about the world, to travel with open minds and hearts and to be “wheels up” for the next adventure.

Donations in Bill’s name may be made to the:

Sandstoner Foundation – Karen Kirchgasser Memorial Scholarship, P.O. Box 264, Potsdam, NY 13676. A memorial service to celebrate Bill’s life will be held in the spring/summer in the Potsdam area. Arrangements are with the Garner Funeral Service. Thoughts, memories and condolences can be shared @www.garnerfh.com.