William Antony Swithin Sarjeant, D.Sc., F.R.S.C.

Family, friends, and colleagues mourn the passing on 8th July 2002 of William "Bill" Antony Swithin Sarjeant: geologist, paleontologist, avid book collector, fantasy writer, folksinger, Sherlockian scholar, and heritage advocate.

Bill was born on 15th July 1935 in Sheffield, England, and married Peggy in April 1966. Following a career as an academic geologist at Nottingham University, he and his family immigrated to Canada in April 1972, where he took up a position as Professor of Geology at the University of Saskatchewan, a position he held until his passing.

His research work focused on the study of marine microfossils and on the history of the earth sciences, fields in which he was widely published and professionally recognized. In later years he expanded his field of studies to include that of fossil footprints. In 1995, he was proud to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada. Bill was devoted to his students and supported them at every opportunity.

Non-academic writing was also a big part of Bill's life. His interest in detective fiction and Sherlockian studies led to the publication of numerous articles in that field and to the co-authorship with Alan Bradley of Ms. Holmes of Baker Street. Under the name of Antony Swithin, he wrote a fantasy quartet entitled The Perilous Quest for Lyonesse; he continued to write other novels in the series up to the time of his death.

Traditional folk music was a passion. Bill performed with the local folk group, "The Prairie Higglers", and sang from his repertoire of British folk songs with great gusto.

Bill will be remembered in the larger Saskatoon community for his work in heritage preservation. Through his tireless advocacy, the City set up its Special Committee for the Identification and Listing of Historic Buildings in 1974, which he chaired from 1974-1979. He co-authored, with Bill Delainey and John Duerkop, Saskatoon: a Century in Pictures in 1982. His major contribution to the preservation of Saskatoon's history, however, has been in the editorship of the Saskatoon Heritage Society's annual journal, Saskatoon History Review, from 1989 to 2002.

His other contributions to the community include serving on the boards of the Saskatoon Environmental Society, the Saskatoon Nature Society, Nature Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Archives Board, SaskCulture, the Saskatchewan Heritage Advisory Board and the Canadian Folk Music Society.

The funeral service was held at St. John's Anglican Cathedral in Saskatoon on Monday, July 15th. Charitable donations in remembrance of Bill may be made to the William A.S. Sarjeant Memorial Fund, University Advancement, 223 – 117 Science Place, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C8.

For further information, please contact Helen Wong: dworaczek@sklib.usask.ca