In Memoriam: Michael J. Walawender
September 13th, 2011 It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of our friend and colleague Dr. Michael J. Walawender
The Department of Geological Sciences is deeply saddened to report the passing of Michael J. "Mike" Walawender on Sept. 13, 2011, in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York after a brief illness. Mike served on the faculty at SDSU from 1972-2001 contributing mightily to the understanding of continental margin batholiths through his work in the Peninsular Ranges; and as a top-rated professor by students who responded to his organization, good humor, and engaging teaching style. He is survived by his wife, Sonja, and his son, Josh.
Michael J. Walawender, 71, husband of Sonja Walawender, of Scipio, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011, at home, surrounded by family and friends. Born in Auburn, he was the son of the late Adam and Julia Walawender. Michael was a professor of Geological Sciences at San Diego State University for 32 years prior to his retirement. Michael had a great love of teaching and following the progress of his students. He returned to Auburn in his retirement to be close to family and enjoy the beauty of the Finger Lakes area. Surviving is his wife of 43 years, Sonja; his son, Josh, of Hawaii; his brother, Robert Walawender, of Owasco; niece, Michelle Walawender, of Georgia; nephew, Darren Walawender, of Auburn; and their mother, Linda Walawender; his aunts, Veronica Thoryk and Stella Swizdor; aunt and uncle, Valerie and Fred Waby; and several cousins. Services will be at the convenience of the family. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Finger Lakes, 1130 Corporate Drive, Auburn, NY 13021. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Nicpon Funeral Home, Auburn. To send a message to the family, sign our guest book at www.auburnpub.com and click on obituaries.
Mike received a BSc degree from Syracuse University in 1965 and an MSc at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology where he met his life-long partner Sonja. He went on to earn his PhD from Penn State in 1972 and then stepped right into an Assistant Professorship in Geological Sciences at SDSU. He began his career at SDSU at a point where the department was just starting into an important phase of faculty expansion. Mike became an immediate anchor in the core geology curriculum teaching petrology, field geology and his popular ore deposits class amongst others. He enjoyed family camping and fishing trips over the years – Colorado being a frequent destination and was an avid poker player as his former students and friends will recall. Mike was a keen amateur astronomer which he enjoyed with Sonja and Josh as long-time members of the San Diego Astronomy Association; Josh has since gone on to become an Assistant Professor in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Mike published dozens of professional papers over the years and supervised 25 MSc students at SDSU. He is perhaps best known for his work on Peninsular Ranges gabbros on which he and long-time collaborator Terry Smith did the first detailed petrologic investigations. He also published a popular book on local geology in 1999 “The Peninsular Ranges: A Geological Guide to San Diego’s Back Country” and following retirement remained active as a Research Associate in the San Diego Natural History Museum Department of Mineralogy. He will be missed.
Education:
Ph.D., Geology, Penn State, 1972
M.Sc., Geology, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology,
B.Sc., Geology, Syracuse University, 1965
Research Interests:
Continental Margin Batholiths
Geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic constraints on the origin and evolution of Batholiths
Research Papers
Davis, B.L., Rapp, G. and Walawender, M.J., 1968, X-ray observations of chemical and polymorphic equilibria under hydrostatic pressures; Jour. Physics and Chem. Solids, v. 289, p. 1177-1189.
Davis, B.L. and Walawender, M.J., 1968, Fabric and structural characteristics of the Martitization process; American Jour. Sci., v. 266, p. 482-496.
Walawender, M.J., 1976, Petrology and emplacement of the Los Pinos Pluton, southern California; Can. Jour. Earth Sci., 13, pp. 1288-1300.
Walawender, M.J., 1976, Shock produced mosaicism in plagioclase, Charlevoix structure, Quebec, Can. Jour. Earth Sci., 14, pp. 74-81.
Berggen, R.G. and Walawender, M.J., 1977, Petrography and metamorphism of the Morena Resevoir pendant, southern California; Calif. Div. Mines and Geology Special Report 129, pp. 61- 66.
Walawender, M.J., Hoppler, H., Smith, T. and Riddle, C., 1979, Trace element evidence for contamination in a gabbronorite-quartz sequence in the Peninsular Ranges batholith; Jour. Geol. 87, pp. 87-97.
Walawender, M.J. and Smith, T.E., 1980, Geochemical and petrological evolution of the basic plutons of the Peninsular Ranges batholith; Jour. of Geology, 88, pp. 233-242.
Davis, B.L. and Walawender, M.J., 1982, Quantitative mineralogical analysis of granitoid rocks: a comparison of x-ray and optical techniques; American Mineralogist, v. 67, pp. 1135-1143.
Smith, T.E., Huang, C.H., Walawender, M.J., Thung, P. and Wheeler, C., 1983, The gabbroic plutons of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, southern California: cumulate rocks associated with calc-alkalic basalts and andesites: Jour. Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 18, pp. 249- 278.
Clinkenbeard, J.P. and Walawender, M.J., 1989, Mineralogy of the La Posta pluton: Implications for the origin of zoned plutons in the eastern Peninsular Ranges batholith, southern and Baja California; American Mineralogist, 74, 1258-1269.
Walawender, M.J., Gastil, R.G., Clinkenbeard, J.P., McCormick, W.V., Eastman, B.G., Wernicke, R.S., Wardlaw, M.S. and Smith, B.M., 1990, Origin and evolution of the zoned La Posta-type plutons, in Cordilleran magmatism, J.L. Anderson (ed.): Geological Society of America Memoir 174, pp. 1-18.
Gastil, R.G., Diamond, J., Knaack, C., Walawender, M.J., Marshall, M., Bogles-Reaber, C., Chadwick, B. and Erskine, B., 1990, The problem of The Magnetite-ilmenite boundary in southern and Baja California; Geological Society of America Memoir 174, pp. 19-29.
General Papers
Walawender, M.J., 1975, Road Guide for the Roblar-Case Springs area, Camp Pendleton, California; Studies on the Geology of Camp Pendleton and Western San Diego County, Ross and Dowlen, eds., pp. 81-85.
Walawender, M.J., 1975, Petrogenesis of the gabbro-tonalite sequence in the Pilgrim Creek- Morrow Hill area, Camp Pendleton, California; Studies on the Geology of Camp Pendleton and Western San Diego County, Ross and Dowlen, eds., pp. 28-33.
Walawender, M.J., 1979, Basic plutons of the Peninsular Ranges Batholith; Mesozoic crystalline rocks, Abbott and Todd, eds., pp. 151-162.
Lillis, P.G., Walawender, M.J., Smith, T.E. and Wilson, J., 1979, Petrology and emplacement of the Corte Madera pluton; Mesozoic crystalline rocks, Abbott and Todd, eds., pp. 143-150.
Adams, M.A. and Walawender, M.J., 1982, Structure and stratigraphy of the Santiago Peak volcanics east of Rancho Sant Fe, California; in Geologic Studies in San Diego, Abbott, P.L., ed., pp. 104-117.
Walawender, M.J. and Abbott, P.L., 1982, Quasi-sedimentary structures in the gabbroic complexes of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, southern California; in Geologic Studies in San Diego, Abbott, P.L., ed., pp. 148-158.
Walawender, M.J., Girty, G.H., Lombardi, M.R., Kimbrough, D., Girty, M.S. and Anderson, C., 1991, A synthesis of recent work in the Peninsular Ranges batholith; in Geological Excursions in southern California and Mexico, M.J. Walawender and B.B. Hanan, eds., pp. 297-318.
Carrollo, G.F. and Walawender, M.J., 1993, Geochemistry and petrography of leucogranite plutons from the western zone of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, San Diego County, California; in Geologic Investigations in Baja California, Mexico, Abbott, P.L., Sangines, E.M. and Redina, M.A., eds., South Coast Geological Society, pp. 151-162.
Volumes Editted
Geological Excursions in southern California and Mexico, M.J. Walawender and B.B. Hanan, eds., Guidebook for the 1991 Annual Meeting, GSA, San Diego, CA, 515 p.
Abstracts
Walawender, M.J., 1973, X-ray (oscillation) studies of naturally shocked plagioclase from the Charlevoix structure, Quebec, Canada, abs.; Cordilleran Section, Geol. Soc. Amer., Portland, OR, pp. 118.
Walawender, M.J. and Walawender, S.J., 1974, petrology of the Los Pinos gabbro and associated ultramaifc rocks, abs.; Cordilleran Section, Geol. Soc. Amer., Las Vegas, NV, pp. 271.
Walawender, M.J., 1974, Field Guide to the Los Pinos Gabbro; Guidebook of the Third Annual IGCP Circum-Pacific Plutonism Conference, Baja and Alta California, abs.; IGCP Circum Pacific Plutonism Conference, Vancouver, BC
Walawender, M.J., 1975, The Pinos pluton - model for the multistage gabbroic plutons of southern California, abs.; IGCP Circum-Pacific Plutonism Conference, Vancouver, BC
Berggreen, R.G. and Walawender, M.J., 1976, Structure, petrography and metamorphic history of a metasedimentary roof pendant in the Peninsular Ranges batholith, San Diego County, California; abs.; Cordilleran Section, GSA, Pullman, WA, p. 356.
Walawender, M.J., Hoppler, H., Smith, T.E. and Riddle, C., 1978, Trace elements and contamination in a gabbroite-quartz diorite sequence in the Peninsular Ranges batholith; abs.; Cordilleran Section, GSA, Phoenix, AZ, p. 152.
Gastil, R.G. and M.J. Walawender, 1979, The origin of circum-pacific gabbros; abs., 1979 meeting of the Pacific Sciences Congress, p. 17.
Kimzey, J.A., Walawender, M.J. and Kofron, R., 1982, The La Posta Gradodiorite -- a peraluminous granitoid produced by amphibole fractionation; abs.; Cordilleran Section, GSA, Anaheim, CA, 178.
Gjerde, M. and Walawender, M.J., 1982, Geochemistry and geochronology of the Alverson Formation, Imperial County, California; abs.; Cordilleran Section, GSA, Anaheim, CA, p. 166.
Walawender, M.J., Gunn, S.H. and Calhoun, J.M., 1983, Peraluminous granitoid rocks of the eastern Peninsular Ranges; abs.; Cordilleran Section, GSA, Salt Lake City, UT, p. 163.
Kofron, R.J. and Walawender, M.J., 1984, Age and style of mineralization, Julian Gold District, southern California; abs.; GSA Annual Meeting, Reno, NV, p. 563.
Diamond, J.L., Knaack, C.M., Gastil, R.G., Erskine, B., Walawender, M.J., Marshall, M. and Cameron, G.J., 1985, The magnetite-ilmenite lime in the Peninsular Ranges batholith, southern and Baja California, U.S.A and Mexico, abs; Abstracts with Programs, Cordilleran Section, GSA, p. 386.
Gastil, R.G., Walawender, M.J., Pope-Shaygen, M., Clegg, D.B., Diercks, C.E., Cameron, G.J., Tirell, A.L., Milano, D.G., Reaber, D.D. and Toyne, C., 1985, The Sierra San Pedro Martir zoned pluton, Baja California Norte, Mexico, abs; Abstracts with Programs, Cordilleran Section, GSA, p. 386.
Clinkenbeard, J.P., Walawender, M.J., Parrish, K.E. and Wardlaw, M.S., 1986, The geochemical and isotopic composition of the La Posta granodiorite, San Diego County, California, abs.; Abstracts with program, Cordilleran Section, GSA, 18, no. 2, p. 95.
Parrish, K.E., Walawender, M.J., Clinkenbeard, J.P. and Wardlaw, M.S., 1986, the Indian Hills granodiorite, a peraluminous garnet-bearing granitoid, eastern Peninsular Ranges, abs.; Abstracts with program, Cordilleran Section, GSA, 18, no. 2, p. 168.
Walawender, M.J. and Gross, W.W., 1986, Geochemistry and origin of mafic inclusions in granitic rocks of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, southern California, abs.; Abstracts with Program, Cordilleran Section, GSA, 18, no. 2, p. 194.
Walawender, M.J., Gastil, R.G., Calhoun, J.M. and Smith, B.M., 1987, Geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic constraints on the origin and evolution of the eastern zone of the geochronologic, and isotopic contraints on the origin and evolution of the eastern zone of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, abs; Abstracts with Program, Codrilleran Section, GSA, v. 19, p. 460.
Smith, B.M. and Walawender, M.J., 1987, Stable isotope relations among rocks and minerals of the La Posta pluton, eastern Peninsular Ranges batholith, southern California, abs.; Abstracts with Program, Annual Mtg. GSA, v. 19, p. 848.
Wernicke, R.S., Walawender, M.J., 1987, Gastil, R.G., and Smith, B.S., 1987, Age and origin of the El Topo pluton, Baja California, abs; Abstracts with Program, Annual Mtg. GSA, v. 19, p. 887.
Lampe, C.M., Walawender, M.J. and Rockwell, T.K., 1988, Contacts between La Posta-type plutonic rocks and stromatic migmatites offset across the Elsinore Fault, southern California. abs.; Abstracts with Program, Cordilleran Section, GSA, v. 20, p. 174.
Gorzolla, Y.R., Girty, G.H. and Walawender, M.J., 1988, Geochemistry of the Santiago Peak volcanics, Peninsular Ranges batholith: Tectonic implications, abs; Abstracts with Program, Cordilleran Section, GSA, v. 20, . p. 164.
Gastil, Gordon, Wardlaw, Melissa, Walawender, Michael and Girty, Gary, 1988, U-Pb Signature of inherited zircons in granitic rocks, eastern peninsular California, abs.; Abstracts with Program, Cordilleran Section, GSA, v. 20, p. A314.
Walawender, M.J., Gastil, R.G., Clinkenbear, J.P. and Wardlaw, M.S., 1989, On the origin of the zoned La Posta-type plutons, southern and Baja California, abs.; Abstracts with Program, Annual Mtg. GSA, v. 21, p. A200.
Lombardi, M. and Walawender, M.J., 1991, The Alpine tonalite, an image of a gabbroic source? abs; Abstracts with Program, Annual Mtg., GSA, v. 23, p. A200.
Walawender, M.J. and Girty, G.H., 1992, A model for the structural and petrologic evolution of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, abs.; Abstract with Program, Cordilleran Section, GSA v. 24, p. 88.
Carrolo, G.F. and Walawender, M.J., 1993, Geochemistry of leucogranite plutons from the western zone of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, San Diego, California, abs.; Abstract with Program, Cordilleran-Rocky Mountain Sections GSA, v. 25, p. 18.
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