Dale Ritter, former professor of geology at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, died June 1, 2012, after a long battle with esophageal cancer. He was 79.
Ritter graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1955. After teaching high school he returned to F&M and in 1959 earned a bachelor’s degree in geology. He then came to Princeton and earned a Ph.D. in geology in 1964.
Joining the faculty at F&M as an associate professor, he stayed there until a mentor persuaded him to accept a position at Southern Illinois. From 1972 to 1990, he established himself with a specialty in the field of geomorphology, receiving awards and honors, including the chair of the Quarternary Geology/Geomorphology Division of the Geological Society of America. His book, Process Geomorphology, the authoritative textbook in the field, was published in its fifth edition (with two co-authors) in 2011.
In 1990, Ritter turned full time to research and became the executive director of the Quaternary Sciences Center with the Desert Research Institute at the University of Nevada-Reno. He directed the paleoenvironmental studies program.
Ritter is survived by Esta, his wife of 49 years; four children; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.