Aretz et al_2011.pdf - ORBi - Université de Liège

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Kölner Forum Geol. Paläont., 19 (2011)
M. ARETZ, S. DELCULÉE, J. DENAYER & E. POTY (Eds.)
Abstracts, 11th Symposium on Fossil Cnidaria and Sponges, Liège, August 19-29, 2011
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GEW - I first met Bill at the 4th IASFCP Symposium in Washington, D.C. My first recollection of him was a
sympathetic face in the audience during my first international talk as a MSc student. His obvious attention to my talk
and apparent agreement signalled by the occasional subtle nod instantly improved the confidence of an otherwise
terrified student speaker. I found his calm, confident and knowledgeable approach to Mississippian corals and
stratigraphy a great benefit thereafter. I was very fortunate to be able to visit Bill at the Smithsonian and always
enjoyed my visits. It was especially exciting for a student to have access to the Natural History Museum of the
Smithsonian Institution and wear a ‘Visiting Scientist’ badge and Bill’s research collections were always open to a
willing student or colleague. Staying with Bill in Alexandria was also a pleasure. We spent many interesting hours in
his well appointed basement study discussing corals, stratigraphy, and about anything else, while listening to
recordings of his Barbershop-style choral group, the Alexandria Harmonizers. Who knew that Bill was a singer! On
those occasions and throughout my early academic career, Bill provided sage career advice along with interesting and
far-ranging scientific discussions. He always advocated understanding the corals in an integrated way - from biology
up to depositional environments and then through to useful applications in stratigraphy and palaeogeography and
tectonic reconstructions. He occasionally reminisced about the fortunate timing of his career and lamented how it was
getting tougher and tougher for young palaeontologists, but he always tried to help out. Many will remember that Bill
had a great sense of humour but that he could be a pretty ‘crusty’ guy, particularly when the diabetes was giving him
trouble, but he never stopped caring about his junior colleagues and students. When my father died while I was
finishing my MSc degree at the University of Oklahoma in 1983, I got a letter addressed from Washington and opened
it to find a postcard with a sunflower on one side. The other side said simply, “The sun will shine. Bill”. Bill was a
great mentor. I hope the sun is shining for him now.
TS – Bill helped and encouraged many young coral scholars who were not native to English. He was a most skilful
reviewer and shaped up strange and disordered English in coral manuscripts. I first met him at Beijing around the
reception area for the 11th International Congress on Carboniferous Stratigraphy and Geology in 1987. Before we
met, he had already reviewed my poor English manuscript on heterocorals (Sugiyama 1984) three times from 1979
(five years!). During the congress he gave me a warm encouragement after my début in the international meeting,
even though I could not react to some critical questions from participants, by using the Japanese word “Ichiban”
which means “you are the best.” After three years, I got a chance to share my sabbatical year with Bill in Washington
D.C. from 1991 to 1992. In his office and his private area including some practices and concerts of the International
champion of Barbershop chorus, Alexandria Harmonizers, he shared his happiness and sadness, pleasure and
suffering, well-organized parts and disorganized ones. He always kept his mind open for this childlike oriental guy.
Before we attended the Münster Cnidaria Symposium in 1991, he recommended that I open my mind for good
communications with people, and this simple suggestion helped me so much during the first experience in this
international community. He also suggested that I keep myself free in the scientific community. This mentor helped
me keep a balance between independency and responsibility for my scientific freedom. We spent unforgettable happy
days during the pre- and post-excursions and the days of conference. In this conference he presented an important
caution for the future of Cnidaria research (Sando, 1994) based on his Carboniferous coral database, which was
accumulated in his old PC after his long efforts. Unfortunately his conclusion turns out to be right: Late Paleozoic
coral researchers are extinct in several countries, and he regretted that he did not pursue his career in the education
sector. He strongly recommended that I mentor one or two good students during my career. I suppose everyone who
“blew under his wind” share the same feeling with me; Bill made us realize where we stood on scientific research. Bill
sang “Danny Boy” a cappella for us at a small Japanese style counter bar, when he stayed at my home to attend the
IGC Kyoto 1992. When my wife, Kyoko, and I got the very sad news from Wayne Bamber in 1996, we understood that
he finally became free.
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