Sad news, indeed....
Here's a tribute from his daughter Amy, who is expecting a baby girl.
Those who know me know I often speak about my mother and the closeness that we share, showcasing her in my social media stories "Sunday's with Seta". Some of you are even fortunate to be part of her daily gif send of prayers, blessings & angels to your FB messenger. However, there is another person that was responsible for the creation of me that I wanted to share a little about, Professor James Whitford-stark.
My father was truly the most interesting man in the world. He came to the US from England in 1976 to attend Brown University on a full scholarship to obtain his Ph.D. specializing in Lunar Mare (I had to Google this - it means volcanos or craters on the moon). This took him to a stint at a small firm called N.A.S.A. Talk about an accomplishment that's 'out of this world.' It was there that he began his lustrous career traveling the world to study Volcanism, writing multiple publications such as "Stratigraphy of Oceanus Procellarum basalts - Sources and styles of emplacement" and ultimately landing his dream job as a field professor of Geology at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. In addition to West Texas, he had conducted field work in Aruba, Belgium, Canada, Canary Islands, Curacao, Dominica, France, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, United Kingdom and China.
He went on to write thousands upon thousands of publications on his research, books with titles that I cannot pronounce, teach 3 generations of students, marry the love of his life Seta Whitford-stark, take his 6-year old daughter to places like Mount. St. Helen's and China and develop an infatuation with the American cowboy, named John Wayne. Stetson hats, bolo ties, and boots were the main fashion items, my British dad procured.
Diamond Jim was also an avid collector of stamps, at one point becoming the lead philatelist on eBay.com. To date, he had collected over 10,000 different stamps worth thousands of dollars. In one of our final conversations, he expressly wished to pass down this prized collection to his unborn grandchild.
Most of all, he was a man of few words but those he spoke were profound. Ref: his speech at my wedding. His sarcastic, sharp tongue and unmatched wit are what I will miss most. For years, I felt confused because my dad wasn't "typical." He never took me to sporting games & never talked to me about boys but he did teach me about music and strengthened my love for bands like the Beatles, Pink Floyd & David Bowie.
It's not often you meet a certified genius, but I was lucky enough to have one as a dad. I'm sharing this with you all because I cannot let his legacy be forgotten. God, how I wish he could have met his 1st grandchild. My hope is that he is enjoying a perfectly room-temp Gin & Tonic in heaven and beaming down with pride at my meager attempt to sound half as smart as he was. Until we meet again xx
