By Rebecca Goodman
Enquirer staff writer

FORT THOMAS - Sherwood Dodge Tuttle, an emeritus professor of geology at the University of Iowa, died Sunday at Highlands of Fort Thomas. He was 86.

Dr. Tuttle and his wife, Esther Barrett Tuttle, wrote Geology of the National Parks with Ann G. Harris, emeritus professor of geology at Youngstown State University. The book contains geographic settings and geologic history and features of 57 national parks and is widely used in college courses.

The book, originally written by Harris, was first published in 1975. When the publisher requested a third edition, Dr. Tuttle and his wife were called in to help update it.

"He was a really fantastic person," Harris said. He had an incredible memory of all the places he had worked at - even in his youth - that enabled him to contribute a lot of input on the book.

"He and Esther are one of the main reasons that the book has been so successful. (Because of them) we were able to keep the book as accurate as possible.

"I got married and our honeymoon was spent with the Tuttles working on the book. Quite truthfully, both he and Esther were almost like parents to me. We were that close."

Born in Medford, Mass., and raised in Hancock, N.H., Dr. Tuttle graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 1939. He began graduate studies at the University of Washington, but left school to serve as an Army infantry captain during World War II.

He was stationed at posts in Florida, California and occupied Japan.

After the war, he received a Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University and became a geology professor at the University of Iowa and a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts.

Dr. Tuttle was a member of the board of athletics for the Big 10 Conference.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Beverly Storm of Fort Thomas; two sons, Mark S. Tuttle of Orinda, Calif., and Owen S. Tuttle of Sonoma, Calif.; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is 1 p.m. Sunday at Zion United Church of Christ, 2332 Sherwood Lane in Norwood.

Memorials: Zion United Church of Christ, 2332 Sherwood Lane, Norwood, OH 45212 or the University of Iowa, 2222 Old Highway 218 South, Iowa City, IA 52242-1602.