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William "Bill" Antony Swithin
Sarjeant
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Bill
Serjeant at the
World Fantasy Convention in Montreal in
November, 2001.
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William "Bill"
Antony Swithin Sarjeant, geologist, paleontologist, avid book
collector, fantasy writer, folksinger, Sherlockian scholar, heritage
advocate and SF Canada member, died July 8, 2002, in Saskatoon.
Bill is survived by his
wife, Margaret "Peggy"; his daughters, Nicola (Peter Ryan), Rachel
(Neil Sarjeant-Jenkins) and Juliet (Michael McKague); his grandsons
Tristan and Rowan Sarjeant-Jenkins; his aunt, Winifred Llewellyn,
and cousins, Cynthia and Trevor, of England; and long-time friend
David Spalding of Pender Island. He was predeceased by his parents,
Harold and Margaret (née Cantrell) Sarjeant, and his uncle, Reginald
Llewellyn. |
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Bill was born on July
15, 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 at 1:30 pm.
Charitable donations may be made to the William A.S. Sarjeant Memorial Fund,
University Advancement, 223 - 117 Science Place, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C8.
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