David Shaddrick*
David R. Shaddrick
August 1, 1942 – July 18, 2025
David R. Shaddrick passed away in the early morning hours of July 18, 2025, after fighting an aggressive type of thyroid cancer for the past 5 months. He was 82 years old, passing away two weeks before his 83rd birthday, which he had planned to celebrate on August 1st.
David was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to a family with modest means and limited prospects. As with many families in this situation, education was seen as the best way forward. These seeds were sown very early in David’s life, which led to his strong determination to get an education and have a professional career. The details, however, remained a mystery for years. After a rather tempestuous and extended primary and secondary career, Dave surprised all his relatives and friends by graduating from Richfield High School in 1961.
David joined the U.S. Air Force in July 1961, where he received training in electronics and served as a Nuclear Weapons Fusing Systems Specialist based in San Antonio, Denver, New York, and the Philippines. While still serving in the military, he began his college career by taking evening classes at Long Island University. He earned credits and maintained a good GPA, which allowed him to enroll at the University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology, following his honorable discharge in 1965.
At that point, David’s only ideas for a career were that he enjoyed the challenge of science and engineering and wanted to work outdoors. His first course in Geology awakened a surprising sense of wonder and curiosity that settled this question quite definitively. Finances remained a challenge, so David supported his university adventure with a full-time job. Near the end of his undergraduate studies, part-time work was supplemented by assistance from the recently passed GI Bill for Vietnam-Era Veterans. In 1968, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Minnesota, Institute of Technology.
Following graduation, David decided to pursue a Master’s degree. His choice of graduate school was again dictated primarily by the availability of financial assistance and the promise of in-state tuition. Although he was accepted by several schools, only the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology offered these essentials. He packed everything he owned in a 1960 Chevrolet station wagon (a story unto itself) and moved to Rapid City in the Black Hills of South Dakota in early 1969. He earned a Master of Science degree in geology from “The Mines” in 1971.
While at SDSM&T, David met his future wife, Sandra Shaddrick, and his lifelong friend Dennis Bryan while he served as their TA in various geology classes. The three of them, along with a few other close student associates, spent many a day exploring the old mining districts and incredible geology of the Black Hills. David and Sandy hit it off and eventually married on September 4, 1971.
After graduate school, David accepted a position with Homestake Mining Company as an underground mine geologist at the Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, South Dakota. He spent the next 12 years (1971-1983) with Homestake in numerous positions of increasing responsibility in operations, exploration, and at the corporate headquarters in San Francisco. David liked to joke that he worked his way from the bottom (6500 level of the mine) to the top (11th floor of the corporate headquarters) of the mining industry. A notable highlight of this period in his career was the discovery of the Foley Ridge gold deposit (now the Wharf Mine) in the Black Hills just a few miles west of the Homestake Mine, where he, along with his colleague Terry Jennings, developed the original exploration model and did the initial mapping, sampling, and drilling.
David and Sandy welcomed their long prayed-for “miracle” child, Bree Megan Shaddrick, on August 4, 1982, 3 days after David’s 40th birthday. David was such a proud parent; Bree was the twinkle in his eye and his constant field helper on weekends, vacations, and even on Christmas Break. When Bree was twelve years old, they spent the holiday repapering claims out in the freezing outback of Nevada, and she was not happy!
David and Sandy took Bree to her first industry convention (NWMA in Spokane) at just 4 months old, where she met many GSN members. They got to know her well as Dave and Sandy brought her along on field trips and to GSN meetings all the time. She seemed to be more comfortable with geologists than with children her age.
Tragically, Bree was taken from them at the age of 17 in a car accident near Truckee, CA, on December 4, 1999. They were devastated, and to keep her memory alive, they created Bree’s Memorial Garden at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno, Nevada, which offers a peaceful space to reflect on life and to connect with nature’s beauty.
In 1983, David, Sandy, and Bree moved to Reno, Nevada, where Dave was asked to build a team focused on a gold exploration program in the western US for Atlas Precious Metals. The team he built and managed discovered the original Gold Bar District in Eureka County, Nevada in 1984 and developed the project from 1985 to 1987. They also discovered the Grassy Mountain deposit in Oregon in 1987, as well as numerous projects still being explored today. This is one of the major highlights of David’s career. Many young geologists who worked with him say that he freely shared sound geological knowledge and career advice. Anyone who spent any time with Dave knew he passionately loved what he did as an exploration geologist.
David left Atlas in 1987 and embarked on an independent consulting and project generation business in Reno, which he continued up until the end. As an independent consultant and entrepreneur, David worked in every capacity from prospector, field geologist, and project manager, to President and CEO of private and public exploration companies. He worked on or evaluated numerous significant gold deposits in the United States and Canada.
A particularly noteworthy highlight of David’s career was his long-standing involvement and countless contributions to the Geological Society of Nevada. From his arrival in Reno in 1983 to the present, David was a fixture of the society, as an enthusiastic member, a consistent participant in monthly membership meetings, field trips, symposia, picnics, golf tournaments, and many other events, and a generous volunteer to the Society. David’s volunteer roles began in 1990 as the first Chairman of the Education Committee, staying in the role for five years. He was involved in the formation and organization of the GSN Foundation in 2000 and sat on the committee that established the GSN Board of Directors in 2005. David was elected to the GSN Executive Committee as Vice President in 2000-2001 and became President in 2001-2002. He was appointed an inaugural Director in 2005 and served on the GSN’s Board of Directors until his death. He served as Chairman of the Board from 2011 to 2014. David was involved in the GSN Symposium Organizing Committees since the first one in 1987. He successfully led the very important Fundraising Committee for the 2010 and 2015 Symposiums.
In 2010, David organized the grassroots group called the Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition and served as its President and Director until he stepped down in June 2025. The NMEC is an exploration industry advocacy group that was David’s brainchild. He was so enthusiastic about advocating for the exploration industry, small miners, and prospectors at the state and federal levels. He poured his heart and soul (and money) into this cause, and it will continue its mission through the work of his devoted colleagues.
Mr. David Shaddrick was a P.Geo. (APEGBC), CPG (AIPG), SME Legion of Honor member, SEG Fellow, Geological Society of Nevada Honorary Member, and a Lifetime member of both AMEBC and PDAC.
In true David fashion, he threw a party for all his friends and colleagues on June 9th to thank them for their friendship, support, contributions, conversations, and camaraderie in his life before he died. He said that, besides the fact that he had cancer, he was having the time of his life visiting and swapping stories with old friends and colleagues over the past few months. Our community has lost an inspirational leader, a passionate minerals explorer, and a great friend in David Shaddrick, but wonderful memories and great stories will always live on in the minds of those who knew him. According to his wishes, there will not be an additional memorial service because he already enjoyed his celebration on June 9th.
If you would like to donate in David’s honor, you can send them to the GSN Foundation, where his estate is setting up an endowed fund, or to one of the other organizations close to his heart like the SDSM&T or the NMEC.