Presentation of the 2008 Harrell L. Strimple Award of the Paleontological Society to Thomas C. Witherspoon

Abstract

It is my honor and great pleasure to introduce Thomas C. Witherspoon, recipient of this year's Strimple Award for outstanding accomplishment in paleontology by an amateur. This award recognizes his prolific collection, preparation, documentation, and donation of hundreds of thousands of invertebrate fossils to dozens of schools, colleges, universities and museums. Tom Witherspoon is an enthusiastic, tireless, and lifelong champion of paleontology and of elementary, secondary, and collegiate education. He is richly deserving of this recognition by the Paleontological Society. The Strimple Award is often given to individuals who have made contributions in a specific area of paleontology, focused on a particular time interval or systematic group, or who have had a close association with one or more professional paleontologists. The winner this year, Tom Witherspoon, fits a slightly different model, what we may call the “Johnny Appleseed” model of accomplishment in paleontology. Tom Witherspoon was born in 1921. As a boy, he moved to Dearborn, Michigan, where he and Catherine, his wife of 64 years, reside to this day. Tom graduated from the University of Detroit in 1955 with a Bachelor's degree in Education. After earning his Master's degree a few years later, Tom continued his teaching career at the John C. McDonald Elementary School in Dearborn. There, for the next 29 years, Tom taught science to fifth and or sixth graders. Tom became interested in fossils and the history of life on Earth from the textbook he used in these classes. To learn more, he went to the Cranbrook Institute of Science Museum …