David Vandenburg LeMone

Our Dad, Dr. David LeMone, had many friends and colleagues. The family is aware we have not heard many of the stories and anecdotes about our father and are hoping you can share some of those stories with us. We are compiling a booklet of memories of him and welcome your contributions. Please send your story to katialemone@gmail.com before 10 March so it can be printed in time for the memorial service. UTEP Geologic Sciences professor, David V. LeMone died of congestive heart failure February 22, 2020, peacefully in his home in El Paso with his family by his side. David was born April 16, 1932 in Columbia Missouri and spent his childhood in Long Beach California. David met his beloved wife, Peggy at an extracurricular dancing class at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, New Mexico. They were married in April 1955. David went on to get his BS from School of Mines and his Master’s degree from University of Arizona. He worked in the mining and oil industry prior to receiving his PhD in Geology from Michigan State University in 1964. He moved his family to El Paso to start his job teaching at Texas Western College now known as the University of Texas at El Paso. He was instrumental in developing the Geology Department at UTEP. He taught Geology, Paleontology, Petroleum Geology and Nuclear Waste Management to countless students. He fully immersed himself in his profession and was well respected. Many past students remember him as the “Smoking Mountain” and would comment on how fast Dr. LeMone could scale up the side of a mountain, leaving others in his dust. He was passionate about his work and in the 1960s he went to eastern Europe on sabbatical to study algae. He loved to travel and went to China, Russia, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and several other European countries. David retired after 40 years as a UTEP Professor Emeritus in 2004. David was a Renaissance man with a fascination for learning. He always had a book with him and was constantly researching new topics. He would often be found at the local coffee shop having an intense conversation on history or politics with friends and colleagues. He was civic minded and a member of several organizations. He especially enjoyed his membership as a Rotarian since 1983. His loving wife, Margaret, proceeded him in death in 2011. He is survived and already deeply missed by his daughter Kathleen (Owen) and his son Jonathan (Marysol) and his grandchildren David, Allison and Brandon. Memorial services will be held Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 2:00 pm at the University Presbyterian Church, 244 Resler Drive, El Paso, Texas. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home Northeast. Please visit Mr. LeMone’s online registry book at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net.