The society is sad to report the death of Gordon Todd. Gordon, who was a member of the society for 34 years, died on 23 December 2018.
Gordon was an anesthetist by profession, but was an enthusiatic and talented amateur geologist, with a special interest in minerals and fossils. In 1994, he opened his museum of Scottish mineralogy in a secure and beautifully fitted-out building in his garden in Kilbarchan. Gordon loved sharing stories, science and specimens and the museum became something of a shrine for Scottish and visiting mineral collectors, as well as jealous museum curators. He lectured widely on minerals and collecting to a wide range of audiences, his sense of humour and enthusiasm giving his talks a unique and compelling flavour. In 2010, he opened an indoor extension to his mineral museum to cover broader natural history themes and display shells, fossils and insect collections, as well as even more minerals.
Gordon served on the society’s council and gave many presentations and talks on members’ nights, covering his mineralogical and palaeontological collecting and research. He was a co-author, with Dr Chris Burton, of the chapter on Trearne Quarry in the society’s excursion guide to the Glasgow and Girvan area, published in 1992.
A fuller account of Gordon’s life and achievements can be found here.