Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

John Brown Droste, 90, of Bloomington, died peacefully on February 5, 2018 with his wife Mary, son John and daughter-in-law Doris by his side. John was born on November 23, 1927 in Hillsboro, Illinois to the late Elmer H. and Beatrice Brown Droste. He was a WWII veteran, serving in the US Army. John met his future wife Mary Anderson on a blind date. They were married on September 2, 1951 in Union Avenue Christian Church, Litchfield, IL.

John was a graduate of the University of Illinois, majoring in geology. He then became a Professor of Geology at Indiana University from 1957-1992. During his career he won numerous awards for his achievements. For several decades Droste’s research treated the subsurface geology of the Paleozoic rocks of Indiana and adjacent states. These studies were focused on lithostratigraphy, on interpretation of environments of deposition, and on local and regional tectonic events as they relate to petroleum geology.

John was very active in The Boy Scouts. He was awarded the Silver Beaver and The Order of the Arrow for his achievements with the scouts. John was a woodsman and naturalist and always a gifted teacher.

He is survived by his loving wife Mary, his two sons; John (wife Doris) Droste and Stephen Droste, two grandsons; Randi (wife Ashley) Harris and Wesley Daniel Harris, one granddaughter; Beth (wife Anna) Droste Glowinski, one brother; Robert Louis (wife Marian) Droste, two nieces; Lori (husband Ken) Hillis and Leslie (husband David) Farrar, three nephews; Stephen, Scott, and Jim Anderson, brother and sister-in-law; Henry (wife Sue) Anderson, two sisters-in-law; Janet and Jenny Anderson and four great grandchildren; Elizabeth, Lila, Josephine Droste Glowinski and Ellie Dupuis. John was preceded in death by his granddaughter Jennifer Droste, brothers-in-law Stephen and Michael Anderson and his in-laws Ruth and Henry Anderson.

Visitation for John will be held on Saturday, February 10 from 9-11a.m. in Day and Deremiah-Frye Funeral Home, 4150 E. Third St., Bloomington, IN 47401. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. with Pastor Helen Hempfling officiating. Burial is in Valhalla Memory Gardens with the Monroe County Honor Guard performing military rites.