Dr. William W. Lumsden, 81, died Sunday, April 7, 2002 at home in Pine Cove.

He was born Dec. 21, 1920 in Dallas, Texas and grew up in West Los Angeles.

Dr. Lumsden studied the classics in college until World War II intervened.

As a Pathfinder paratrooper, he saw duty in Panama, North Africa and Europe during World War II. His experiences on D-Day were documented in an interview on the History Channel last year.

In 1945, he married Ann Irvin.

He completed his doctorate degree at UCLA. Dr. Lumsden was a professor of geology at UCLA and for 26 years at California State University, Long Beach. He also was department chair at Long Beach.

His specialities were paleontology and structural geology.

He was a Lever-hulme Fellow and Fulbright Scholar at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

In recent years, Dr. Lumsden contributed numerous articles to the Town Crier under the column heading, “Natura doceri,” which is Latin for “to be taught by nature,” reflecting his varied interests.

He was a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Idyllwild and served as its bulletin editor for many years. He also served on the board of the Idyllwild Scholarship Fund.

He was a full-time resident of Pine Cove for 22 years.

Dr. Lumsden will be buried at Chapel of Garioch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Local memorial services may be planned later.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Ann; a son, Stephen Lumsden of Denmark; a daughter, Melissa Stevens of Australia; five grandchildren, Susannah Gordon Lennox of England, David Stevens of Australia, and Christian, Emma and Peter Lumsden of Denmark; and a sister, Lorena Farrell of Rossmoor, Calif.

Donations may be made in his name to the Idyllwild Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 97, Idyllwild, CA 92549.