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Eulogies
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Remarks by Douglas H. Green Dying, at any age, seems to come too soon. Doing so at 49 seems especially early. But if we measure lifespan in terms of lives touched and deeds done, then Mary outlived us all by far. She died a Grand Old Lady indeed. Astronomers tell us that the greatest stars, the ones that burn most intensely, live the shortest lives and end up spreading themselves across space, source material for new stars. I was a planet in close orbit around Mary, watching her shine from a front-row seat, in awe. I was awestruck when I first met her, when she was 20. One of the first things I noticed about Mary (it's obvious from the pictures of her as a young woman what I noticed first) was how hard she worked. She examined her values, defined her objectives accordingly and focused all of her energy towards attaining them. At 20! Work has been a recurring theme in conversations about Mary that I've had over the past few weeks. She worked hard, but it wasn't in dehumanizing drudgery. It was working things out, working towards a goal, working with people, making things work. It impressed me when I was 19 and I wanted to be more like her. She had that effect on many people. Mary kept you honest. Not by challenging or judging you, but by example. You knew she was without pretense or hidden agenda. She was ethical, direct, clear, friendly: it rubbed off on you. You couldn't be otherwise when you were with her. Don't get the impression that Mary was all work and no play. She loved going to the movies, being with friends and family, working out (there's that word again), especially outdoors. She loved dancing, singing and music. Mary played a mean blues harmonica. You could always tell when she'd had a good day just by walking up to the house. Mary would have the harps miked up and would be just wailin', belting out some Howlin' Wolf or Sonny and Terry. Blowin' the Fuses! The things that made Mary weren't always pleasant for her. Being six-foot two, on a bad day, made her feel "big and clunky". But if you ever saw her dancing, she was clearly light and lithe, passionate and perfect. Mary often felt out of touch with the mainstream. She'd say that she never had "Girl Lessons". Why strive to be cute and perky when you're six-foot two? It wasn't going to happen. Rather, she grew up to be strong, confident, intelligent and loving. Never had Girl Lessons? She could give Girl Lessons, and did, without even knowing it. She kept a journal most of her life, since she was 11 years old. In them, she would work through (there's that word once again) ideas, dreams, frustrations. She wrote about 4 to 6 pages daily. In her last entry, written two weeks ago today (ed. note: the entry would have been February 24, 2007, two days before she died) she talked about the books she was writing and the classes she was looking forward to teaching. She also described how she pictured playing open stage this coming summer, something the two of us were planning. She wrote: "I picture my outfit. V-neck top, black, showing the scar
nicely. Tight jeans with the bells slit to accommodate bandana panels.
Big shiny earrings, loops or something. Slightly tinted shades.
Hey, it's my fantasy, I can have it how I like it…….. We don't want Mary to be gone. But how far removed is she, really? Think of her physically: tall, strong and handsome. Now look at her sons: tall, strong and handsome. Mary is right there! Think of her spirit: clear, direct, optimistic, effective, happy, so good. Have we lost this part of her? Look at whom she has influenced: friends, family, students, colleagues, and you'll see Mary: clarity, directness, optimism, happiness and goodness. She spread herself throughout our universe, our community both local and extended, where we now see whole constellations of people with her spirit. You want to keep Mary alive? Then take what she gave you, and shine! Reading by Cynthia Riggs Most of you here today knew Mary as an adult, a remarkable
individual who made a difference in her world. How did she become
the woman she was?
Remarks by Natalie Kruse How rarely are our lives touched by someone as passionate and dedicated as Mary. I was lucky enough to be Mary's student, both formally and informally, for over twelve years. Mary's passion for environmental protection and the quest for knowledge was infectious. When I was eleven, she brought me and my brother to take water samples at two abandoned mines—I was immediately captured by the subject and my thirst for more information was always quenched by Mary's instruction and guidance. Through the years, she taught me that idealism is a powerful driving force, but realistic solutions are needed for real problems. She showed me that compromise helped get things done, but didn't need to mean abandoning your principles. Mary approached teaching in a rare way—she didn't see her students merely as empty vessels to fill with facts but rather as people she could guide and support and exchange knowledge with, treating us as colleagues and trying to learn from us as well as to teach us. Mary impassioned so many people both in the community and in the classroom to improve the world around them. She encouraged students to passionately follow their dreams and inspired many of us to address the environmental problems facing Appalachia. Mary's influence reached further than she would ever admit. She understood that a single passionate and dedicated individual could change the world. Mary changed the world by gathering a community around her to improve the quality of our environment and touched so many lives along the way. She could see that changes would only happen through bringing together the expertise of many disciplines—from engineers, biologists and economists to landowners, politicians and miners. This way of approaching problems created rare and wonderful partnerships that have and will accomplish great things. We can maintain her legacy by using the community that rallied around her to continue her good work. As I stand here, at the beginning of my career, I can only hope that I can follow in her footsteps—that my work and my life would make her proud. Remarks by Bob Eichenberg Rarely are we blessed with someone who shows us how to be passionate in all aspects of our lives - Someone who takes caring and giving to new levels - Someone who can be counted on faithfully. Mary was this One. A helper, mentor, mother, hard worker, analyst, poet, hard worker, nurturer, rower, swimmer, hiker, musician, hard worker, mountain climber, philosopher, camper, problem solver, wood splitter, concrete mixer, bicyclist, skier, hard worker, paddler, caring friend to so many - and did I mention hard worker? When Mary and I first met she was a new professor out to make her mark. She could have done her research anywhere but chose to keep it locally and help a place she knew is hurting. With her unique blend of science, public concern, planning, big picture view and patience she showed us how seemingly insurmountable obstacles can be overcome. She and her students played a crucial role in organizing and later implementing the projects of the Monday Creek, Sunday Creek and Raccoon Creek Watershed Groups. By meticulously identifying and measuring many of the sources of acid pollution and then working with a myriad of local, state and federal agencies and institutions in order to fund projects, we are starting to see significantly cleaner water in our streams. Along the way she made friends and admirers of us all. Her students got the best applied research and have moved on to productive careers and lives all over the world. Knowing Mary, they left Ohio University not just with knowledge about hydrology but knowledge about how to lead a better life - that giving is important. Mary was also an officer and active member with the Hocking River Commission, a local conservation organization and land trust. She wrote letters, testified at hearings, balanced books, strategized land acquisitions, took pictures, kept our spirits up when things looked bleak, planned fund raisers, led cleanups, served as spokesperson, and very important to all this do-good work, was available for beer drinking, joke cracking and story telling when the work was completed. As a result of her efforts, the Hocking River Commission now owns three important properties on the Hocking River, is buying a fourth and will plant 11,000 trees at one site because she talked a little and did a lot. Through our water-related work, Mary and I realized we shared a lot in common. Our mutual interests included wilderness camping, river swimming, mountain climbing, solving all of the world's problems - and a few of our own - around a glowing campfire. Mary really came alive outdoors. For Mary there really was no bad weather. A powerful winter storm was cause for excitement and best to be out in it. Climbing mountains was a metaphor for dealing with life's challenges and she faced all of those challenges with zest and compassion. We'd tease each other that we're not happy unless we're swimming upstream against the current. When it came to nature study she could apply the deep, analytical skills of a scientist and still retain a childlike fascination with all the miracles going on in the universe. It was difficult to watch her have to cope with a heart issue that challenged her physically and mentally. She was such a strong person that many did not even know of her struggles. She did not want people worrying or fussing about her. Now that she no longer has to solve a million different problems, may her spirit soar up mountains, sail on cold, clear waters, write all the books she wanted to while alive, and laugh in the face of a winter storm. We are all so much richer because of you, Mary, and we will carry on in your spirit. Remarks by Mark Weinberg
Pastor Miller called me on Tuesday and asked if I would talk about Mary's accomplishments across the Ohio University community. I would like to thank Scott Miller and Mary's other colleagues and friends who helped me prepare for these remarks about a wonderfully talented scientist. Mary dedicated her life to watershed research and restoration and to involving faculty, students, professionals, citizens, and many others in this noble effort. When I talked to David Kidder, chair of Mary's department, he talked about Mary's incredible ability to bring environmentalists, mining companies and students, everyone together to solve problems. He talked about her ability to excite students through field trips and teaching — her pure energy in tackling everything she did at Ohio University. It is very difficult to do justice to the career of someone when her presence and force of personality extended across departments and academic disciplines, across centers and institutes at Ohio University, and across communities in our region all connected by Watersheds such as Monday, Sunday, and Raccoon Creeks. It was, it is, very difficult to talk about someone like Mary, because in all honesty, I have never met another faculty member quite like her. So I would like to tell the part of her story at Ohio University that I know best, a story that starts about 12 years ago. Mary Stoertz was this wonderful faculty member in Geological Sciences, who came to us by way of Christ Lutheran Church. Our center was doing work on environmental projects, and our staff and students wanted to work with Mary on watershed research and problem solving. So my staff asked me — "Mark, please call her and see if she will work with us." Mary didn't initially return my calls and messages. A few weeks later, though, she called and asked if I was Wanda's husband, and father to the boys Wanda brought with her to Christ Lutheran Church every Sunday. Luckily for us, I was, and a wonderful relationship was launched with Mary on watershed research and restoration. She agreed to start and head what became the Appalachian Watershed Research Group. In her work with this group, Mary worked with people like Rachael and JB. Hoy and Scott Miller. There is actually more to this story. I remembered the Church part of the story, but had forgotten the part of the story about beer. Thanks, Scott. The Appalachian Watershed Research Group idea was actually created over beers at O'Hooley's on a Friday afternoon when Harry Payne and several other Ohio Department of Natural Resources folks were in town. They were in need of more and better research on mining reclamation and the environmental impacts of mining. They asked if anyone at OU was involved and interested in conducting such research. Mary was interested, talked with me about forming a watershed group and the rest is history. She brought incredible partners like Harry Payne, other professionals from OEPA, and community leaders from organizations like Rural Action. And she brought things like EPA 319 grants and people like Bob Eichenberg, and computer fluid modeling programs, and students needing to work on Masters theses, and innovative service learning courses in geological sciences for undergraduate students. As the group developed, Mary involved other faculty from geological sciences like Dina Lopez, geographers like Geoff Buckley, and engineers like Ben Stuart to work with our staff and with students. She brought with her a close link to Gene Mapes and Environmental Studies students, and faculty such as Kelly Johnson, a biological scientist interested in how the health of insect populations reflected stream health. Michele Morrone came from environmental health with risk assessment, and Ariaster Chimeli from economics, where he and Mary started work on understanding the social as well as economic costs of coal mining using spatial analysis. Chemical engineering professor Kevin Crist was linked through his work in air quality, and Dave Bayless, a mechanical engineering faculty member, entered the picture with sustainable energy interests. Mary brought with her a wonderfully creative scientific mind and knowledge of water flows and engineering. She brought with her a passion for restoring watersheds. And, Mary brought with her, everywhere, lab notebooks in which she recorded everything that we talked about, every idea we ever had. These wonderful talents, combined with years of Mary's hard work and leadership have resulted in an impressive body of research and projects, and, just as important, an increased role and recognition of the important work that Ohio University faculty, students and staff do in sustainable energy and environmental issues. That group, the forerunner of what Mary called the Consortium for Energy, Economics and the Environment or CE3, has attracted millions of dollars to Ohio University and educated countless graduate and undergraduate students over the past years. Mary accomplishments were recognized in part by many awards including:
More recently, Mary was working with Michele Morrone and Nancy Manring to develop an environment studies leadership curriculum. She worked to develop this academic program based on her belief in the importance of merging science, policy, and moral leadership. Mary was a trail blazer at Ohio University for working across disciplines, for involving students and community members in joint problem solving, and for keeping alive a moral commitment, idealism and passion for a sustainable environment. This story isn't only about a gifted scientist. It is about a person who used her talents to make a difference in the lives of people and communities. She transformed polluted streams and creeks into valuable recreational, economic and community assets and made this transformation a community and university learning process. In this process she changed the lives of many Ohio University students like Natalie Kruse, Ben, Kyle and Amy, forever. How do we remember Mary's accomplishments? Mary was passionate and morally committed to her work. Mary was bright, innovative and creative. Mary was one of those rare people that come into our professional and personal lives, whose passion and compassion at work is only exceeded by their passion and compassion as a person. Mary was a wonderful, caring and inspiring human being. In closing, I would like to paraphrase part of Ted Kennedy's eulogy remarks about his brother Robert, to try and capture what Mary meant and will always mean to this University and region. "Some women see things as they are and say why. Mary dreamed things that never were and said why not." We will miss her.
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In
memory of Mary Wilder Stoertz, March 6, 1957 - February 26, 2007 |
