Elton Geist, longtime member of SME, died July 29, 2004. Geist was born in 1921 in the central South Dakota prairies. His parents were driven by drought to stake out a mining claim in the Black Hills, where they eked out a subsistence living. Geist began his career doing odd jobs in the local mines. He enrolled at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T) after graduation from high school. He met his wife, Doris Roeser, in high school, and they were married in July 1941. In 1942, Geist enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and spent three years in the service. He spent one year in the Army Specialized Training Program at City College of New York where he completed his degree work in mechanical engineering. He was scheduled to be shipped out to Japan when the war ended. He returned to school on the GI Bill and earned a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering at SDSM&T.
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