Lee Allison's Obituary
Lee Allison, 68, State Geologist of Arizona and the Director of the Arizona Geological Survey, died August 16 from head injuries suffered after a fall from a ladder at his home. Lee was born in 1948 in Philadelphia and lived in that general area for 11 years, then moved with his family to Los Angeles. He received his professional education in geology at the University of California, Riverside (B.A.), San Diego State University (M.S.), and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Ph.D).; he was the first in his family to attend college. He never doubted that geology was what he wanted to do. His success in life resulted from his intelligence, education, drive, and work ethic. He paid for his education with scholarships, student loans and summer jobs. Cream will rise to the top, if given a chance.
He worked in the oil industry for 15 years before transitioning to public service. Lee was an incredibly dynamic leader of the Geological Surveys in Arizona (2005-2016), Kansas (1999--2004), and Utah (1989-1999). In each case, he sought to increase the impact of the research and outreach of these agencies in the wider world. He never settled for business-as-usual but always pushed forward to make the agencies more useful and influential. He was active in the interface of science and public policy throughout his career. He recognized the potential of the powerful tool of geoinformatics and became a world-wide leader in the efforts to develop cyberinfrastructure for the earth sciences. Lately, his focus was more national and international, with EarthCube (http://earthcube.org/), OneGeology (http://www.onegeology.org/), and the Belmont Forum (http://www.bfe-inf.org/). He was impressed by all sorts of people all over the world. He learned from them, they inspired him to do more, do it better.
In addition to many awards and honors, Lee received the Public Service Award of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in 2002, the Tanya Atwater “Encourage” Award from the Association for Women Geoscientists for promoting the role of women in the profession in 2003, and the American Institute of Professional Geologists John T. Galey Jr. Award for Public Service in 2008.
He was always thinking, rolling ideas around in his mind. On a plane going somewhere, reading a fluff article in the in-flight magazine, he turned to his wife and said "I've figured out how to give everyone in the Utah Survey a raise." Another flight, another magazine, and it was, "we can do with geologic data what they have done in bioinformatics" and his vision of geoinformatics was born, in 1996.
Lee was dedicated to public service. He worried that he was a fool, to spend his life working in such a low-paying field, worried at how it compromised his family’s financial security. In Arizona, where state employees are treated with such contempt by many in government, he didn't receive a raise in over 10 years of service. But he couldn't turn away - he knew what state geological surveys could do for the economic well-being of a state and its citizens. Whether it was natural gas in Utah or potash in Arizona, it was his duty to identify natural resources then let others decide how to proceed. Lee knew that “resources” – everything we need to sustain life - can only be found above the earth or below its surface. He understood better than most the value of geological resources in the US for our national security and prosperity.
He was absolutely dedicated to the advancement of women in geosciences. He did meet with significant resistance, at times, and was shocked when others clung to the good-old-boy status quo. He was a member of AWG (Association for Women Geoscientists) in Salt Lake City almost from the inception of the chapter.
His wife asks that donations be made to either of two funds.
• The Lee Allison Memorial Scholarship at the Univ. Massachusetts. Donations addressed to the Scholarship fund can be sent to the Dept. of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, or at https://www.geo.umass.edu/contribute. A donation website link will take you to a page where you can simply put Lee Allison Fund in the "Special Gift Instructions” box.
• The Association for Women Geoscientists, Salt Lake City chapter, for professional development. Instructions for online donations are on their home page, http://www.awg.org, which also has detailed instructions for donations by check.
This is no hollow request; it is exactly the sort of thing Lee would appreciate. He would be touched that someone would care enough about his friendship or his contributions to the geosciences to make a difference in a young geologist's life.
Lee is survived by his wife, Ann Becker; brother Mark (Holly) Allison of Claremont, CA; sister Cathy (Ed) Torrance of Las Vegas, NV; and by friends and family sprinkled around the world. His father, Merle (Gwen; Covina, CA) passed away August 23. Lee was preceded in death by his mother, Lois. The Arizona Geological Survey will organize a memorial for him at a later date.
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