[meteorite-list] In Memoriam Darryl Futrell

From: bernd.pauli_at_paulinet.de <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun Aug 14 05:05:12 2005
Message-ID: <DIIE.0000001B00003BAA_at_paulinet.de>

On Monday, August 13, 2001, our esteemed list member and tektite expert,
D a r r y l F u t r e l l passed away after years of suffering But his
love for tektites, and his enjoyment of this list "kept him going for over
a year and a half as he suffered many things", wrote his daughter Kathy Lee
Barrio to our list on Wednesday, August 15.

I still miss him sorely,

Bernd


Excerpts from the Montebello News, Vol. 70, No. 112, Sunday, March 3, 1985:

He follows science's rocky road to moon (by Mary Ann Bolyea)

When he was 6, Darryl Futrell had a dream. He was walking down the southside
of Whittier Boulevard east of Goodrich, past what was then a giant vacant lot
when he saw the page of a newspaper blowing along the ground. He stooped to
pick it up, and it began putting him toward the moon, and the moon kept getting
bigger and bigger and ... He woke up.

Could the nightmare have been prophetic? Did it indicate even then that Futrell's
future would revolve around newspapers and the moon? Certainly, in a sense, that's
what happened.

.. he's been intent on verifying a theory that is moon-focused: he wants to help
prove that tektites - natural glass stones that are found in some geographical areas,
but nowhere else - come from silicic volcanic eruptions on the moon.

If you're not "into" geology like Futrell, the tektite question probably doesn't seem
too earth-shaking, but in the scientific world it's a controversy that has been the
subject of several books, more than 1,000 dissertations (Futrell owns 500 of these),
theses and many barbs.

"With many, it's become an emotional issue," Futrell said, "just like a fanatic
attachment to a certain make of automobile and their disdain for all others.

Now, Futrell is not an official member of the world of geology. He holds no degree,
he is not a professor, but he is an acknowledged expert on the subject of tektites,
and owner of one of the top five or 10 tektite collections in the world.

Anybody can hand you a bagful of tektites, but Darryl's first rate. He's an intelligent
and fascinating person. When he gives you specimens they are carefully labeled
and tell you what to look for. He's read and understands the literature.

I saw him at a meeting at Alfred University in 1983 at which he showed his specimens
and it was a very impressive presentation. His collection is better than anything the
Smithsonian has. A lot of people, including myself, owe a lot to Futrell.
Received on Sun 14 Aug 2005 05:05:10 AM PDT