Paleontologist, Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University George R. McGhee Jr. passed away on December 21, 2023 at RWJBH University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. Born September 25, 1951 in Henderson, NC. He received the B.S. degree with honors, from North Carolina State University and a master degree from UNC- Chapel Hill. He took the Ph.D. at the University of Rochester in Rochester NY. George began his academic career at Rutgers University, in New Brunswick NJ. Tenured at the age of 31, his career at Rutgers spanned 42 years, retiring a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science. At Rutgers he taught Paleontology courses for advanced undergraduates and the popular "Dinosaurs" course for non-science majors.
George was an evolutionary theoretician, focusing his research on the phenomenon of convergent evolution and was active in the ecological analysis of mass extinctions of life on earth. He was the author of seven research books: The Late Devonian Mass Extinction, When the Invasion of Land Failed; and Carboniferous Giants and Mass Extinction; and Theoretical Morphology, published by Columbia University Press; and Convergent Evolution: Limited Forms Most Beautiful; and The Geometry of Evolution, published by Cambridge University Press (England). George also published numerous research articles in scientific journals. In retirement he wrote about the life and work of Edward D. Cope, the famous 19th century Quaker paleontologist of Philadelphia, PA.
In addition to Rutgers, George held research positions at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago, IL), the American Museum of Natural History (New York, NY) the Paleontological Institute of the University of Tuebingen (Germany), The Santa Fe Institute (Santa Fe, NM) and the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research in Vienna (Austria).
George registered as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. He was active in anti-war activities throughout that war. He was a member of the Religious Society of Friends (the Quakers). He wed Mare W. Paschall in the traditional way of Quakers at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC in 1971. George and Marae served as resident directors at the Quaker House in Raleigh, NC for two years. They were sojourning members of the Rochester Friends Meeting in Rochester NY, and the New Brunswick Friends Meeting in NJ. For the last 25 years George and Marae were active members of the Princeton Friends Meeting in Princeton, NJ. Marae and George worshiped, at times, with Mennonites and in the Church of the Brethren.
Of Scottish ancestry, George and Marae enjoyed many summer trips to Scotland. There, he enjoyed driving on the left side of the road in the Highlands, Celtic Music, and standing-stone circles at archeological sites.
The son of the late George R. McGhee Sr. and Mary (Cobb) McGhee, George is survived by his wife of 52 years, Marae (Paschall) McGhee, his mother Mary, his brother Robert T. McGhee, his sister-in-law Alfreda (Paschall) Gee, and his niece, Arie Marae Gee.
A memorial service was be held at Princeton Friends Meeting House on January 20, 2024 at 11:00 am, a light luncheon to follow. George requests that memorial contributions be sent to The Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker world peace lobbying organization in Washington, DC (FCNL.org). Contributions may also be made to Princeton Friends Meeting at 470 Quaker Road, Princeton, NJ 08540.
Extend condolences and share remembrances at TheKimbleFuneralHome.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Published by The Star-Ledger from Jan. 3 to Jan. 7, 2024.
Here are some quotes from former students and colleagues about George:
I was lucky enough to have George as a professor for an undergraduate and graduate course and have vivid memories of reading his encouraging comments on my work. His comments had such a deep impact on me and allowed me to build the confidence to realize I was good enough to continue pursuing Geology research. He was a quiet man, but his wealth of knowledge filled the room. I loved hearing his paleontology and dinosaur stories in class and I never saw anyone who could draw fossils, dinosaurs, and invertebrates better with chalk on the board. He was a true legend of his time and he will be deeply missed. -Lauren Neitzke-Adamo
George was telling me that he reviewed T. rex and the Crater of Doom by Walter Alvarez, a book about the K/Pg mass extinction. He liked the first half of the book and the second half of the book, but thought a middle part should have been written. The first half is about the measurement of the Iridium anomaly and its publication in 1980 in Science. The second half is about the finding of the crater in 1990. Between 1980 and 1990 there was acrimonious debate that was not discussed in the book. George said “Walter was too much of a gentleman to write that part.” Being a gentleman himself, he said he understood, but “it is a shame since many of those stories are now lost.” -Kenneth Miller
Getting the chance to interact with such a brilliant paleontologist during my time at Rutgers, leaves a lasting impact on me personally and the other various students that I rode through the ranks with. He was a source of knowledge that taught with such a great passion that even the people who weren’t interested in the topic, came away with an interest. On top of that, George was a kind soul who always had a smile and a wave when he walked through the halls in the geology department. The industry as a whole will miss the knowledge that he possessed but the community will miss the kindness most of all.
-Sean StevensonGeorge McGhee was an amazing paleontology professor and it was evident in the way he taught how passionate he was about his work. I always looked forward to his class and admired the way he would effortlessly illustrate fossils and write out notes on the chalkboard without any powerpoint slides. He was a very kind and approachable professor. One of my favorite memories from his class was when he taught us about marine snails and said they are “voracious predators” and “we are lucky that they don’t fly.”
-Ria Sarkar