J. Brad Dalton, III, PhD
On December 31, 2022, at 3:28 a.m., Dr. James Bradley (Brad) Dalton, III, passed quietly from this life at
Missouri Baptist Medical Center Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri. His father and three siblings were present
during his final hours battling influenza. Brad loved life, music, adventure, and the wonder of the
universe, and was a staunch advocate for the environment. Brad attended the Burning Man experience
annually for many years and opened people’s minds with art and music as a DJ. He hiked and explored
places from high mountain deserts in Peru to sacred Hawaiian green sand beaches. He was born in
Memphis, TN, on the anniversary of his great-grandfather’s birth, James Bradley Dalton,
84 years old on that day. As a child, Brad lived in Huntsville, AL, his first year, then Atlanta and
Dunwoody, GA, for the next four, then Hazelwood, Florissant and Creve Coeur, MO, for the next 13,
following his father’s aerospace career. In 1982, he graduated from Parkway North High in Creve Coeur,
MO – where he ran cross country – and entered Washington University in St. Louis. Brad earned a B.S. in
Physics and a B.S. in Computer Science there, graduating in May, 1987. During that period he became
enamored with Planetary Science and Geology, which was to be his life’s work. Employed by the
National Ocean Service (formerly U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey), Brad ran studies of environmental
impacts on rivers and coastal waters, using spectrographic images from satellite imagery. Spectroscopy
became his specialty. Brad pursued a doctorate and enrolled at the University of Colorado, taking a
position as a graduate assistant. By May 1996, he earned a Master of Science in Astrophysics and
Atmospheric Science. In August 2000 he completed a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Geophysics, with a
Dissertation on the surface composition of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. He began working for NASA as an
astrophysicist at the Ames Research Center in California and joined the SETI Institute. His passion for
studying the surface composition of the surface of Europa began bearing fruit and Brad performed
increasingly significant studies propelling him to the forefront of the field. He presented at numerous
domestic and foreign conferences including in Russia and Italy. Brad moved from SETI to CalTech’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in 2007. There he invented a unique cryogenic laboratory that allowed him to
emulate and identify Europa’s surface materials. In time, NASA approved a mission to develop and send
an orbiting observatory to Europa, largely due to Brad’s research. He demonstrated a spectrographic
signature from Europa data that matched microbial organisms of Earth. Brad played a significant part in
the Europa Clipper project which, among other research objectives, seeks to confirm Brad’s evidence
that life does exist on Europa. But as the project was in the early stages of organization, Brad fell ill with
an inoperable brain tumor caused by Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, a rare autoimmune disease. The
tumor so damaged his short-term memory that he became unable to perform research; several other
tumor effects gave him additional serious health problems. Although Brad lost the career that so
defined him, he continued to believe he would overcome the problems and return to his beloved career.
His efforts to return continued five years, with Brad cheerfully living life looking forward, but the
compromised immune system would be the weakness that allowed influenza to overcome his body and
end the life of a brilliant, far-sighted, and highly regarded planetary scientist. He was seen by many of
his colleagues as “amazingly smart”, “charismatic”, “positive”, “kind”, “a little eccentric”, “fun”, “vastly
inspirational”, “extraordinary”, “creative”, “an out-of-the-box thinker”, and “a key scientist.” One
summed it up this way: “He did so much for planetary science.” Brad was preceded in death by his
mother and stepfather, Patricia C. Dalton-Hollis (Marshall) of Creve Coeur, MO. He is survived by his
father, James B. Dalton, II, of Memphis, TN, his stepmother, Dawn Dennie Dalton of Memphis, TN, four
siblings, Dawn Francis (Don) of O’Fallon, MO, Paige Clausen (Chris) of Waukee, IA, Cara Dalton-LaRue
(Eric) of Washington, MO, and Joshua Dalton (Tammy) of Fenton, MO, nine nieces and nephews, Caitlyn

Miller of Evansville, IN, Matthan, Markes, Elina, Timothy, and Westley Clausen, all of Waukee, IA, Davin
LaRue of Washington, MO, Gideon and Sylvia Dalton of Fenton, MO, former stepson, Jascha Roy Owens,
and former spouse, Auriel Luan Dalton of Nashville, TN. A memorial service and celebration of life will be
held in the Umrath Lounge in Umrath Hall at Washington University’s Danforth Campus in St. Louis, MO,
at 11:00 a.m. on February 5, 2023, with a fellowship time following the service. There will be no viewing
but guests will be welcomed beginning at 10:45 a.m. The family wishes to request that any memorial
contributions honoring the deceased be directed to The Histiocytosis Association, https://histio.org/ ,
the National Park Foundation, https://give.nationalparks.org, the World Wildlife Fund,
https://help.worldwildlife.org/hc/en-us, or an earth-friendly favorite cause of the donor.