October 18, 1930 – April 17, 2025
Ronald Lee Shreve died at his home in Friday Harbor, Washington, on April 17, 2025, at age 94. Ron’s early years were spent in the San Fernando Valley, which at that time was filled with wide open spaces where he would roam with his brother Jerry, digging in the dirt and playing games. After World War II he moved with his family to the slopes of the eastern Sierra, where his parents owned and operated the Circle S Ranch. The exposed granite of the high mountains juxtaposed exquisite beauty with the discipline of hard work and sparked Ron’s lifelong interest in geomorphology.
After graduating from Bishop High in 1948, Ron entered Caltech, earning a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1952. Caltech introduced him to a life of the mind and gave him not only the tools to solve hard problems but also the belief that he could. He stayed at Caltech for graduate school, earning a PhD in geology in 1958. In his dissertation, Ron proposed a novel mechanism for certain long runout landslides—air-layer lubrication—for which he received the Kirk Bryan Award in 1969.
After a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Ron joined the faculty of the Earth and Space Sciences department at UCLA where he remained until his retirement. He was particularly known for his work on the geomorphology of stream networks, the geology of glaciers, the physics of grain flows and sediment transport, and sediment subduction and mélange formation. The background in physics and mathematics that he cultivated as an undergrad at Caltech flavored his geological thinking; he would refer to himself variously as a renegade physicist and a heretical geologist.
Beyond science, Ron enjoyed being outdoors, and for years the ideal family vacation was a backpacking trip somewhere above timberline. He also enjoyed good food, both eating it and preparing it. While in Switzerland, he learned to make cheese fondue, which became a holiday tradition. He also crafted amazing breakfasts, and his biscuits, pancakes, and egg concoctions were the stuff of legends. But most of all, Ron enjoyed long, meandering conversations with family, friends, and colleagues about all things interesting.
Ron always said that his two best decisions were going to Caltech and marrying Jean Malcolm in 1962. The couple lived in Los Angeles for the next three and a half decades, spending sabbatical years in Boston, Pasadena, Berkeley, and Seattle. They welcomed a daughter, Beth, in 1967, and took her on her first camping trip before she could walk.
Ron and Jean moved to Friday Harbor in 1998, where they enjoyed the wildlife, the community, and the beautiful scenery. Ron was preceded in death by his father Austin, his mother Dorothy Powell, and his brother Jerry. He leaves behind his wife, Jean, of 63 years, his daughter Beth, his son-in-law Jay, and his grandsons Nathan and Koby.
