Benjamin F. Howell Jr. ’39

Ben died May 12, 2018, one month short of his 101st birthday.

He was born in Princeton, where his namesake father, who was in the Class of 1913, was an instructor and professor for 44 years in the geology department. Ben followed in his father’s footsteps, majoring in geology and teaching at Penn State for 33 years. After earning a master’s degree at CalTech in 1942, Ben was an engineer in the division of war research at the University of California, San Diego. He earned a Ph.D. from CalTech in 1949, the year he began at Penn State.

Ben wrote his senior thesis on “The Geology of the Notre Dame Bay Region” of Newfoundland. His first book, Introduction to Geophysics, was published in 1959. His second book, Earth and Universe, followed in 1972. In our 50th-reunion yearbook in 1989, he reported, “I’ve been retired for six years, but still go to the office daily — I’m writing a third book.” An Introduction to Seismological Research was published the next year.

Ben’s wife, Connie, died in 1992. He was also predeceased by his daughter Cathy. He is survived by his children, Barbara, James, and Bonnie; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. To quote them, “He was an inspiration for his passionate views on climate change and family values.”