Robert Brent Blodgett

Oct 5, 1952 -

Oct 5, 2026

Dr. Robert B. Blodgett passed away Oct. 5, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska. Born in Pocatello, Idaho, to Avis McClellan Blodgett and Robert Leroy Blodgett, he moved to Anchorage in 1960, where his passion for paleontology began in high school.

He earned his B.S. and M.S. in geology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and his Ph.D. at Oregon State University. He worked with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Smithsonian, studied in Germany as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, and taught at Western Oregon State University before returning to Anchorage as a consulting geologist and paleontologist for government agencies and the oil and gas industry. He built the Alaska Paleontological Database of over 17,000 fossil localities and authored more than 330 publications. Most noted for his studies of brachiopods and gastropods, he was the finest paleontologist to ever work in the Last Frontier. In 2004, a Triassic snail, Blodgettella enormecostata, was named in his honor by colleagues Alexander Nützel and Douglas Erwin. Robert's world-class rock and fossil collection has been donated to the Alaska Geologic Materials Center.

Robert loved fieldwork across Alaska, his two poodles and genealogy. A man of deep faith, he saw God's handiwork in the fossils he studied. He was predeceased by his parents; and sisters, JoAnn Blodgett and Sharon Blodgett Smith; and is survived by nieces and nephews, Chizari Hans, Sandy Fischler-Laube, Keith Lindsey and Joe Fischler Jr. He was laid to rest on Oct. 20, 2026, at Paul Cemetery in Paul, Idaho. Share memories and condolences at hansen-mortuary.com/Obituary.aspx?ID=1320. In Robert's own words, "God bless."