Richard E. Lonsdale, emeritus professor of geography, died on Oct. 8 in Lincoln. He was 86. Among his survivors are wife, Mildred; daughter, Alison McGinn of Council Bluffs, Iowa and grandsons, John and Andrew McGinn.
Born in Stockton, Calif. to Elmer and Dorothy (Dulfer) Lonsdale, he grew up in San Gabriel and Alhambra, Calif. After serving in the US Army from 1944-1946, he went on to earn his bachelor's degree in geology and master's degree in geography from UCLA.
From 1953-1957, he worked as a geographic analyst for the CIA in Washington, D.C., where he met and married Mildred M. Jordan.
In 1960, Lonsdale received a Ph.D. in geography from Syracuse University and was a Ford Foundation fellow in Moscow. He would go on to teach at SUNY-Binghamton, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and The Royal Military College in Australia before joining the UNL geography department as professor and chairman in 1971.
"He was very instrumental in building a strong academic program at the university in the 1970s," said Bob Stoddard, emeritus professor of geography. "It was the arrival of Richard Lonsdale in 1971 that commenced the dramatic growth of the department."
Within his first few years at UNL, Lonsdale attracted several new faculty members, three of whom are still at the university (Doug Amedeo, geography; Ken Dewey, applied climate science; and David Wishart, geography).
Dewey had just completed his doctoral degree at the University of Toronto when he was recruited by Lonsdale.
"He made me feel very at home as he drove me around the community and then to his house to meet his family," Dewey recalled.
As Dewey left for the airport to return to Toronto, Lonsdale told him that he had a good feeling about his interview and that they would be speaking again soon.
"He called me at home that evening and offered the job to me," Dewey said. "I had been on several other interviews and had several opportunities to start my career elsewhere, but it was the hospitality that (Lonsdale) and the department had shown to me – along with the good feeling I had about living in Lincoln – that made me choose UNL."
Under Lonsdale's leadership, UNL's geography department was identified by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the nation's "most improved graduate programs" and it ranked second in the number of student credit hours by geography students.
"Although he ended his role as chairman in 1976, it was his leadership that brought about a remarkable strengthening of the geography department," Stoddard said. "We remember Richard Lonsdale as a scholar who made a significant contribution to the University of Nebraska."
A memorial service will take place at 3 p.m., Dec. 5 in the Nebraska East Union (room to be announced). Anyone wishing to celebrate Lonsdale's life and contributions to the university is welcome to attend.
Condolences may be left at http://www.bmlfh.com.
— Mekita Rivas, Natural Resources