OBITUARY — Jack Satterly dedicated life to geology of

A respected contributor to geology, mineralogy and mining in Ontario, Jack Satterly died recently in Toronto. He was 86.

Following his 32 years with the Ontario Department of Mines (ODM), which ended with his retirement in 1971, Satterly began a 22-year appointment as a research associate in mineralogy at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. Born in England, he came to Canada with his parents in 1912. His father, John Satterly, was a renowned physics professor at the University of Toronto. Jack received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the U of T. The awarding of the 1851 Exhibition Overseas Scholarship in 1929 and again in 1930 allowed him to study at Cambridge University (Gonville and Caius College), where he obtained his Ph.D.

Satterly was a postdoctoral student at Princeton University in 1931 and 1932. This was followed by several years as a geologist with Loangwa Concessions (N.R.) Ltd. in Zambia. On returning to North America, he worked in a Nova Scotia gold mine with W.F. James, and in 1935 returned to Ontario to begin his painstaking work mapping and interpreting the geology of Ontario. For the next few years, he taught at the U of T, and was also assistant director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Geology, spending his summers doing reconnaissance mapping with the ODM.

His first ODM project was in the Dryden-Wabigoon area in the Kenora district. This was followed by studies of mineral occurrences in the Parry Sound district and in the Haliburton and Renfrew areas. From 1944 to 1952, his prodigious energy was applied to geological mapping of seven townships east of Matheson, on, or adjacent to, the Destor-Porcupine fault zone, known for its gold mineralization.

In most cases these were the first detailed, and still considered by some to be the best, geological maps made of these parts of Ontario. He also produced the first geological compilation map of Ontario, first published in 1946 and revised in 1958.

From 1948 to 1952, Satterly, along with Nelson Hogg and Alice Wilson, was involved in a drilling project to determine the stratigraphy underlying the James Bay Lowlands.

Satterly then turned his attention to the occurrences of radioactive minerals in the Bancroft area. He examined and mapped some 120 surface prospects and mapped underground at several locations. His publications on the radioactive mineral occurrences are considered geological and mineralogical classics. He was promoted to senior geologist in 1961. In 1967, he became chief of the review and resources section, geological branch, Ontario Department of Mines and Northern Affairs. Also during this time, Satterly produced his well-known reports on the possible occurrence of kimberlite and diamonds in Ontario. Satterly’s contributions to the geological sciences were recognized in 1967 when he received the Centennial Medal. In 1977, he was again honored when the Jack Satterly Geochronology Laboratory was officially opened at the ROM. In 1978, a new mineral species from the Yukon was named satterlyite. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Geological Association of Canada. He was a life member of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and a member of the Mineralogical Association of Canada. He was an honorary member of the Walker Mineralogical Club.

Besides enjoying a distinguished career in geology, Jack devoted much of his spare time to ornithology. His field observations of birds have been preserved and have appeared in many ornithological publications. His extensive collection of bird books, which was donated to the ROM’s library, represents another significant contribution.