David B. "Burt" Slemmons

Dec. 31, 1922

May 4, 2017

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 with 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 completed his 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.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Reno Gazette Journal and Lyon County News Leader on May 7, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for David Slemmons

Sponsored by Palm Eastern Mortuary & Cemetery.

7 Entries

August 15, 2017

Burt was my major adviser for both my MS and PhD degrees in the late 1970s. I always considered him a mentor and friend and am deeply saddened by his passing.

On the lighter side, he became known as Burt-a-Slemmons, or merely Burt-a after the way he answered the phone. Ruth often laughed when she heard us refer to him by that nickname. His students were always amazed by his stratigraphic filing system, but not so when he found the typewriter he had reported stolen under a large stack of papers.

Best wishes to Ruth and his family.

John Zellmer, '77 and '80

Nancy Houghton

July 31, 2017

Condolences to Dr. Slemmons family and friends. I remember how I enjoyed the field trips our class made around Reno examining potential geological hazards. Dr. Slemmons also taught optical mineralogy.

Jim Agnew

June 23, 2017

I worked briefly with Burt at Woodward-Clyde Federal Services on the Yucca Mountain Project in Las Vegas, NV. He was a real gentleman and a walking encyclopedia of geological knowledge. Always enjoyed his field trips and other conversations immensely. My sincere condolences to his family.

Mark Stirling

May 18, 2017

Burt has had a great life, and has made huge contributions to the science. I hadn't seen him since a FoP some years back, but I still remember those interactions vividly. Thanks for all you brought to us Burt, including the "One Burt" measure we still use in the field when doing earthquake geology reconnaissance :-)

Mark Stirling
Chair of Earthquake Science, University of Otago, and UNR Alumni

Mark Molinari

May 12, 2017

My condolences to the family. Burt was my MS thesis adviser and landlord for the semester I lived in the trailer at their Golden Valley house. He was much more than my teacher/adviser; he and Ruth were wonderful friends to Karen (my fiance) and I while I was a student and they came to our wedding in California. He was a great mentor and what I learned from him had a significant impact on my career. I was lucky to work with him in 1990-91 on a project in Alaska when he was a technical consultant for our client, enjoyed seeing him and him and Ruth at AEG annual meetings, and was proud to be there when he was inducted as an AEG Honorary Member.

George Hinton

May 9, 2017

May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived.

Mary Anne Slemmons

May 7, 2017

If you would like to donate in his memory the Slemmons Lecture Series at the University of Nevada Reno was dear to his heart. Donate at lhttp://neotectonics.seismo.unr.edu/Slemmons_Donate.htmloo

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