February 2, 2010

Frank Koucky Jr.

Wooster's "Indiana Jones," archaeologist, mapmaker and geologist Dr. Frank L. Koucky Jr., died peacefully in his sleep in front of his fireplace at his home on Friday, Jan. 29, 2010. Born in Chicago on June 24, 1927, his adventures took him to dozens of countries, entered him in "Who's Who in American Men of Science" and set him in harm's way on many occasions. As a youth he was an Eagle Scout and later he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, soon teaching at the Montana School of Mines, mapping uncharted mountain ranges for the U.S. Geological Survey by air and on foot. He then taught geology at the University of Illinois and spent summers with the Geology Field Camp in Wyoming and Montana, sometimes clearing dozens of rattlesnakes from geological sites, fighting forest fires or searching for lost hikers in dangerous terrain. He become Professor of Geology at the University of Cincinnati and was selected as staff geologist for the Harvard Archaeological Expedition, spending 19 years in the Middle East, returning to teach in the winter. His 'digs' often took him into war zones: he was nearly shot by teenage militia in Lebanon, was rescued by British commandoes in a Cypriot war and was brutally interrogated by Saddam Hussein's secret police for his cases of maps. With Harvard's team in Jordan, he helped unearth the famous "Golden Calf" covered in "National Geographic," but his work also included such projects as the earthquake-buried city of Kourian, Roman tin mines in Cornwall and extensive excavations in Israel, Cyprus and Iraq. He spent a winter in Wales in the 1960s studying microfossils and then became Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster, continuing his field work in the Middle East every summer with the Harvard Archaeological Survey, the American Expedition and others. He published many academic papers and was elected to numerous honorary societies, but Dr. Koucky's loves was always teaching and field work -- he once turned down a top corporate position at five times his professor's pay to stay with his 'digs' and his students. A skeptic of "global warming," his climate research was the subject of an international article in "Barron's." His retirement was spent far from the harsh deserts of his earlier adventures, in his vegetable and flower gardens near Wooster with his wife, Virginia, with whom he celebrated 60 years of marriage and his old dog Bonnie. Surviving are his wife, Virginia Falconer Ruhl Koucky; sons, Frank Louis Koucky III, David Blair Koucky, Walter Falconer Koucky and Jonathan Ruhl Koucky; grandchildren, Nicole, Jordan, Morgan, Michael, Christopher, Nicholas, Daniel, Andrew and Jonathan Koucky; great-grandson, Aaron Koucky; and brothers, Charles and John Koucky. He was preceded in death by his parents, Frank Louis and Ella (Harshman) Koucky Sr.; a son, Daniel John Koucky; and a grandson, Frank Louis Blair Koucky. Frank was buried Monday, Feb. 1, at Foxfield Preserve near Wilmot. The family would like to hear from any of Frank's students or friends who may have an interesting story to share at jon@koucky.com.