The well-travelled geologist and academic Dr Alex Grady, who served as Dean of Earth Sciences at Flinders University while living in Adelaide for many years, died in Hobart on January 8, 2021.
Dr Grady spent much of his working life exploring the discipline of geology, and was lovingly referred to as an “intrepid fossil hunter”. He had a sense of wonder about the natural world and said his greatest passions in life were transferring knowledge and helping others throughout his professional life.
Born on July 29, 1939, and bred in country NSW, Alex lost his father early when he was killed during World War II.
Dr Grady won a Legacy scholarship to study science at the University of Sydney, becoming the first in his family to go on to tertiary education, and after graduating , he did a PhD in structural geology at Otago University in New Zealand.
He met future wife Jan, a fellow Otago student, in New Zealand. They were married soon after Dr Grady got his PhD, and they both went on to have successful careers in separate disciplines.
From 1966-68, Dr Grady worked as an assistant course co-ordinator and teacher at the Australian National University in Canberra. Dr Grady relocated to Adelaide in 1972 to commence teaching at Flinders University and went on to become the head of the Earth Sciences faculty at Flinders.
While working at Flinders, Dr Grady also carried out geological research in East Timor – and caught the last plane out of Dili with colleague Ron Berry as the Indonesian invasion threatened in 1975 and made it safely back to Adelaide.
In 1997, Dr Grady packed up the family again after accepting the job of vice chancellor of the Central Queensland University in Bundaberg, a position he held for nine years.
Following his retirement, Dr Grady and family retired to Tasmania. He died after a short illness. Recognising his long association with Legacy, which helped launch his career through providing financial support, requests have been made for donations to the charity in lieu of flowers at his funeral.
Dr Grady is survived by his wife Jan, children Michelle, Tracey, Jon and Siobhan and four grandchildren.