Dee Molenaar
From Marcia Knadle…
Dee Molenaar passedd away. He often came to NWGS meetings in the 80s and 90s but apparently gave up on making the trip from Gig Harbor as he got older. The Seattle Times had a very nice front page obituary article (headline ABOVE the fold — how often does that happen for a geologist!) for him on Feb. 8 — here’s the link:
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An author and painter who was once a climbing ranger on Mount Rainier, Mr. Molenaar in 1953 was among the first group of Americans to attempt a summit of to climb K2, the second highest mountain …
www.seattletimes.com
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Of course, they focused more on his climbing and art work and barely mentioned his hydrology career at USGS in Tacoma. I worked next to him at USGS and moved into his desk (not his job) when he retired. I remember him as an exceptionally kind and generous man with a great sense of humor.
Another fun connection I had with Dee: he was the one who convinced my first geology professor to study geology! Jerry Miller, who was the first geology prof at Green River College, was majoring in art at UW but wasn’t too sure he could make a career of it. He happened to talk to fellow art student, Dee, who suggested he do as he was and get a double major in geology and art. Dr. Miller ended up dropping art and focusing on geology.