A. Richard "Dick" KASSANDER Jr.

KASSANDER, A. Richard, Jr., "Dick" age 96, passed away on July 27, 2017 in Mesa, AZ. Dick was born in Carbondale, PA, September 10, 1920, to Arno Richard Kassander, Sr. and Elsa Hausstein Kassander. He grew up in Larchmont, NY, in the shadow of New York City; he relished not only his home and family, but also the cultural richness that the city provided. His love of learning and adventure continued throughout his life. Dick attended Amherst College, where he met Sara Nollen; they were married in 1943. He graduated in 1941 with a BA in Geology, Cum laude; Amherst also awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1971. In 1943 he received his MS in Geology from the University of Oklahoma. He worked as Assistant Geologist for the Texas Company and Research Assistant for Magnolia Petroleum Company. From 1943-1946 he served the US Army Corps of Engineers in the European Theater of Operations (WWII). After first wading ashore at Utah Beach in June of '44, Dick's company helped build an extensive system of petroleum pipelines and storage tanks stretching across northern France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and finally over the Rhine into Germany. These efforts provided vital assistance to the U.S. First, Third and Ninth Armies, and included the British Second and the Canadian First Armies. His outfit participated in the Battles of Normandy and The Bulge, as well as the Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns. In 1950 he received his PhD in Physics from Iowa State University. He was Assistant Professor of Physics there until 1954, when he joined the faculty of the University of Arizona as Professor of Physics and Associate Director of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics. He was appointed Director in 1956. Additionally, he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Atmospheric Physics and Director of the Water Resources Research Center. In 1972 he was appointed University Vice President for Research. In that capacity he was instrumental in the creation of a number of organized research units including the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the Environmental Research Laboratory, and the Flandrau Planetarium. After his retirement in 1982 he became the founding Director of the Division of Industrial Cooperation of the University of Arizona Foundation. He was a Fellow of the Arizona Academy of Sciences, and a member of the Arizona Academy of Public Affairs and the Southern Arizona Water Resources Association. Nationally, he was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Meteorological Society. He was Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research; member of the US President's Science Advisory Board, Panel on the Environment; Consultant to the National Science Foundation; Consultant to the Office of Science and Technology, Executive Office of the U. S. President; and member of the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere. He was also a member of several Scientific Honorary Societies, and author of many research publications. Dick served on the Board of Directors of First Interstate Bank, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and the Burr-Brown Research Corporation. He also belonged to the Tucson Rotary Club and Tucson Literary Club, and served on the Tucson Airport Authority as well as Goals for Tucson/Tucson Tomorrow. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Helen and Richard Ruskin; granddaughter, Lauren Encinas (Hector); and grandson, Matthew Ruskin (Heidi Nielson) who will remember "Bapa" lovingly at his happiest--tinkering away in his work shop on his next project: from furniture for the cabin he and Sally built to creating electronic toys to play with his grandkids. There will be a gathering in honor of Dick and Sally at the Flandrau Planetarium on Monday, September 25, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. If you are attending please indicate number in your party via email to ruskin550@hotmail.com by September 18th. In lieu of flowers Dick would have been pleased by a contribution to one of the many causes he supported. Among them: University of Arizona Foundation, Tucson Community Foundation, American Cancer Foundation, American Red Cross, and Hospice of the Valley. Arrangements entrusted to TEMPE MORTUARY.