HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Former Hope College geology professor and Holland City Council member James “Doc” Cotter Tharin died at his Holland home on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018. He was 87.
In addition to founding Hope’s geology department and the school’s sailing club, Mr. Tharin served three terms on Holland’s city council, 1984-96.
His council tenure included serving as chair for Holland 2010; and on such committees and boards as strategic planning and the Holland Planning Commission.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Joanne Febel Tharin; daughter, Catherine Tharin and Monty March of New York City; son, James Cotter Tharin, Jr. and his wife Kim of Chicago; five grandchildren, Cecilia and Beatrice March; Thora, Jackson, and Charlotte Tharin.
Mr Therin was born March 22, 1931, to Dickson and Sheila King Tharin in West Palm Beach, FL. He attended Saint Ann Catholic School in West Palm Beach, FL, through eighth grad, graduating from Palm Beach High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, IN in 1953, then served as a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant at Fort Jackson, SC, 1953-55. After his service, he earned both a Master of Science Degree and a PhD in Geology in 1958 from the University of Illinois.
After graduation, he taught at the University of Illinois for one year while also employed by the United States Geological Survey from 1958-1961 mapping glaciers in Calgary, Alberta, Canada before taking a job in New Orleans working for Standard of California searching for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. In New Orleans, earning the Kendall Cram Award as the outstanding Jaycee of the year.
Teaching was his passion. He was an associate professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT from 1963-1966.
In 1967, Hope College in Holland, MI recruited him to inaugurate the Geology Department. Dr. Tharin became a full professor at Hope in 1974 and remained chairman of Hope’s Geology Department, retiring in 1996. His courses ranged from sedimentology to limnology and everything in between. At Hope, Dr. Tharin pioneered the budding discipline of environmental geology.
Nicknamed “Doc” by Hope students, he fostered many into geological careers and was widely known and appreciated for his energetic lectures. He created a travel program, taking students as far away as Greece, the Virgin Islands, the Keys, Jamaica, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
He spoke to community groups about continental drift, energy and the environment; the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens; and the lost civilization of Atlantis. He led raft trips for the Holland community to the white waters of the Colorado River, the Upper Colorado River and the middle fork of the Salmon River, lecturing along the way and discussing the geology of each of those regions during the raft trips.
He served as Macatawa Bay Yacht Club’s dock chairman for years, racing in many Queens Cups and Chicago-to-Mackinac races. His other passions included bridge, tennis, opera, scuba diving and reading. He had an extensive library.
His family remembers him as comfortable in hiking boots or foul weather gear as he was in a tuxedo, always with a joyful attitude and visionary approach to life.
His favorite toast came right from his Irish heritage: “May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
Visitation is set for 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, 2018, with services immediately following at the Dykstra Funeral Home – Mulder Chapel, 188 W. 32nd St., in Holland, with the Rev. Charlie Brown officiating. Lunch will be served afterward at the funeral ahome.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: “The J. Cotter Tharin Fund” c/o Development Services, Hope College, 141 East 12th Street, Holland, MI 49423
Online donation may be made at https://hope.edu/give
