SKINNER--Brian J., PhD. Brian John Skinner - geologist, professor, and inspiration for generations of students, passed away August 21, 2019 in New Haven, CT. He was 90. The retired Eugene Higgins Professor of Geology & Geophysics at Yale University, Professor Skinner was the author or editor of more than 30 books. He served as president of the Geological Society of America and long-term editor of the journal Economic Geology. Brian was born in Wallaroo, South Australia on December 15, 1928. He graduated with honors from the University of Adelaide in 1950. He earned a PhD in 1955 in Geology from Harvard, where he met his wife, H. Catherine Wild, a fellow geologist. They both began work at Yale University in 1966. While his work was invaluable to the mining industry, Brian also wrote extensively about resource management and sustainability. He performed some of the first analyses on moon rocks returned from the Apollo 11 mission. He is survived by his beloved wife and colleague of 65 years, Catherine; daughters Adrienne Skinner, Stephanie Skinner, and Thalassa Skinner; granddaughters Catherine Scott, Didi Scott, Erica Scott, and Alexandra Gordon; great-grandson Elijah Brian Scott-Samber; and his extensive and boisterous Australian family. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust, 10 Church Hill Road, Woodbury, CT 06798. www.flanders naturecenter.org. A memorial service to celebrate Brian's life will be held in New Haven, CT in early October. For more information visit: beecherandbennett.com