AASP Primary Records Program

OBITUARY: Harold V. Kaska
1926-200l

Submitted by Alfred Holck

Harold Victor Kaska, retired Chevron Overseas Petroleum paleontologist and palynologist, died in his sleep on April 29, 2001. He was born in Brooklyn, NY on January 11, 1926. The family soon moved to nearby Queens where Harold spent his formative years. He served in Germany with the 69th Infantry during the later stages of World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star. Following this, he enrolled at Hofstra University. There he realized that he was not good at mathematics and needed to find a more qualitative academic pursuit. He transferred to New York University in his junior year, discovered geology, and received a Bachelor of Science degree.

His education was further advanced when he received a graduate assistantship at the University of Indiana where he earned a Masters Degree in micropaleontology in 1952. At Indiana he studied under J. J. Galloway, a renowned micropaleontologist of the time. This association led to the publication, jointly with Galloway, in 1953, of Geological Society of America Memoir 69, "Genus Pentremites and its Species".

In 1952 he begin a 32-year career with the Chevron Group of companies. His initial employment took him to a four-year assignment in Trinidad, B.W.I. His first duty was to set up a laboratory for micropaleontology. This proved to be a good experience in organizing and purchasing.

In 1957, he was transferred to San Francisco for a short period. His talents, however, were more needed in Guatemala. Again, he was called on to set up a laboratory. His experience in Trinidad proved valuable, not only in this regard, but also in the firm grounding he had received in studying planktonic and benthonic foraminifera of the Caribbean area. His work also encompassed analysis of orbitoids and fusilinids.

After five and a half years in Guatemala the next two were spent in Coral Gables, FL. There he continued to focus on the Caribbean region. At about this time his emphasis shifted to palynology - a specialty that would occupy him for the rest of his career.

From 1965 to 1966 he worked for the Western Australian Petroleum Proprietary (WAPET), a Chevron affiliate, in Perth, Australia. There he established a palynological laboratory, the first in that area for a commercial company.

He returned to the States in 1968 and worked in the Bakersfield, CA office until 1972, applying his skills to problems in the San Joaquin Valley. His final move brought him back to San Francisco to become a Staff Paleontologist for Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc.

His palynological studies spanned the geologic column from the Ordovician through the Tertiary. They encompassed analyses of spores and pollen, dinoflagellates and acritarchs from forty countries. His extensive studies of the palynology in Chevron's wells in Sudan were of particular importance.

Following retirement he maintained his interest in palynology and undertook consultative work in various domestic and overseas areas.

In 1984 he presented results of his investigations in Central Sudan at the 17th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists (AASP) and published them in abstract form the following year. Results of this work were also presented at the 7th International Palynological Congress in 1988. A full paper appeared in 1989 in Volume 13 of Palynology entitled, "A Spore and Pollen Zonation of Early Cretaceous to Tertiary Nonmarine Sediments of Central Sudan". A brief note entitled, "Palynology helps company avoid drilling costs", appeared in Chapter 32, V. 3 of Palynology: Principles and Applications, 1966.

He was a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, SEPM - Society for Sedimentary Geology, and AASP.

In 1987-1988 he was a Director at Large of AASP. Prior to that, he chaired the 1983 meeting committee of that society. He served two terms as a Director of the International Federation of Palynological Societies for the period 1984-1992.

While in Trinidad, he developed a keen interest in sailing, an activity he and his family enjoyed for many years. In later times he focussed on classical music and opera. He developed an early interest in model trains and in recent years became an avid collector of the Marklin Line. He maintained a close relationship with the University of Indiana Geology Department, particularly in the last five years.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Cecille; a daughter Diane Andrews of New Fairfield, CT; sons Alan of Valencia, CA and Neil of Florence, OR; and three grandchildren.

Interment, in the presence of a military honour guard, was at Oakmont Cemetery, Pleasant Hill, CA.