Bertram George Woodland

Bertram George Woodland

Born in Mountain Ash, Wales, on April 4th 1922 to William and Sarah (Butler) Woodland, the youngest of six children, of whom only he and his brother Austin survived childhood to become adults.

Predeceased by both parents, his brother Austin and his wife of 67 years, Mary, who passed away 5 weeks before him.

Bertram is survived by his two sons Trevor Woodland of Greenwich Connecticut, his former wife Lori and Alan Woodland (Sarah) of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. He had three loving grandsons, Alan's son Gareth and Trevor's sons Owen (and fiancée Hayley Clark) and Liam. He also leaves a number of nieces and nephews.

Bertram received an honors degree in geology from the University College of Wales, Cardiff, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He worked as an aerial photo interpreter during the Second World War assessing bomb damage. He then worked in mineral resource planning in London and it was during this time that he met Mary. After their wedding, he emigrated to the U.S. where he taught geology at the University of Massachusetts and Mount Holyoke College and worked for the Vermont Geological Survey. He then was appointed Curator of Petrology at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, a position he held for nearly 30 years.

Bertram and Mary moved to Homewood in 1958, where they raised their family. He was active in the local Izaak Walton chapter and later was a volunteer with Respond Now. Together with Mary, they were instrumental in documenting the biodiversity of the Homewood Prairie, contributing to its preservation and subsequent incorporation into the Izaak Walton Preserve. In 2009, he was elected to the Homewood Hall of Fame, along with his wife.

A memorial visitation will take place at the Tews-Ryan Funeral Home, 18230 S. Dixie Hwy., Homewood on Friday, August 7 ^th , from 2:00 p.m. until the time of memorial service at 3:30 p.m. ( www.tews-ryanfh.com or 708-798-5300).

Memorials to Homewood Izaak Walton Chapter, 1100 Ridge Rd, Homewood, IL 60430 or charity of choice would be appreciated.

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