Farewell to a Dear Friend

by Nancy Debevoise

Dedicated conservationist, WOC supporter and former board member Emily Faulkner Stevens died at her home in Wilson on December 19. She was 67.

"We at WOC are deeply saddened by Emily's untimely death," said WOC executive director Dan Heilig. "She was one of our most devoted and generous supporters."

Emily joined the WOC board in 1989. During her seven years as a board member, she worked tirelessly on a number of natural-resource challenges and made frequent financial contributions. For example, when WOC had to move out of its rented office space in 1996, Emily made a sizeable donation to help us buy our own building.

"I first met Emily in the mid-1980s, when she hosted a WOC board retreat at her home in Wilson," recalled board member Barbara Parsons. "She hadn't yet joined the board, but she had been an active WOC member for a number of years. I was immediately impressed with her knowledge of conservation issues as well as her quiet warmth and graciousness."

Even after she left the board, Barbara added, "Emily stayed in frequent touch with board and staff members and continued her generous financial support."

In 1997, WOC created the Emily Stevens Book Fund. The fund donates a conservation-oriented book to each of Wyoming's 23 county libraries each year, ranging from picture books for kindergarten children to scholarly volumes for college-level readers.

On January 5, hundreds of Emily's family members and friends gathered in Jackson to celebrate her life. Her son and daughter, five brothers and sisters, numerous nieces and nephews and several close friends spoke movingly of Emily's deep commitment to preserving open space in Wyoming, Arizona and New Hampshire.

A quote in the memorial service's program captures Emily's spirit and life's work: "She traveled gently and quietly through the landscape, and through her understanding, commitment and persistence, she left it better than she found it."

Emily lives on in her legacy of protection for Wyoming's wild places.