In Memoriam
In recognition of those special individuals who devoted their lives to help protect nature and the environment but who have recently passed away, IN MEMORIAM is our way of honoring these people with their generous donation to the Ecosystems Scholarship Fund.
ANDY CARLSON (1966-2021)
Andy was born on June 16, 1966, in Olympia, Washington to parents Don and Sue Carlson. He graduated from the Timberline High School in 1984 and the Washington State University in 1989. He held a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management, and began working for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) after graduation. Andy was an Environmental Planner in WDFW’s Habitat Program working for 33 years in three of the six WDFW Regions and headquarters on fish passage, forest practices, integrated landscape management, priority habitats and species, and most recently on oil spill prevention and response. Andy married Cathy Wolfenbarger in 1992 and settled in Olympia with Cathy and her son Andrew Campbell. Their son David Carlson was welcomed into the world in 1994. Andy’s love of wildlife and the out-of-doors was passed down to Andrew and David, who spent hours walking in the woods hunting, collecting rocks in the nearby creeks, and playing baseball and basketball. Andy coached his son and step-son in youth basketball and baseball. Andy helped coach David in Black Hills Baseball all the way through the Cal Ripken World Series. He managed the WDFW volunteer group for over 30 years, providing wood to low-income elderly. Andy and Cathy divorced in 2002, but remained close friends. They enjoyed raising David, talking daily, and sharing family holidays together. In addition to David, Andy is survived by his father and mother, Donald Lee Carlson and Susan Heckendorf Carlson, as well as his brother Matthew Carlson, his wife Rebecca Carlson and their two children McKenzie Carlson and Samuel (Sam) Carlson.
RITA ANN NELSON (1938-2023)
Rita Ann Nelson was born to parents Ruth and Roy Geppert on December 12, 1938 in Rochester, MN. She was raised on a farm located five miles southwest of Lake City, MN where she developed her passion for dogs, namely German shepherds which was her father's favorite breed. Her earliest education was obtained in a one-room schoolhouse having no electricity or plumbing. In the winter she skied to school. Later she transferred to Lincoln High School in Lake City, MN where she graduated in 1956 and went on to major in music at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. She married Harold Nelson in 1958 and together they raised two sons, Jeff and Dana, in Mankato, MN.
Rita worked as a veterinarian's assistant, taught high school music, owned and operated a dog grooming business called 'The Dog Groomer.' She had a life-long admiration for dogs and showed dogs professionally in the US and Europe as well as providing breeding services. She had a particular fondness for poodles, whippets, and curly coated retrievers. While very much a competitor in the show ring, she was a wonderful mentor to many in the "dog world". Musically, Rita was multi-talented and an accomplished pianist, vocalist, trombone player and performed for the Rochester Orchestra. In the 1990's she moved to Kansas City where she operated an art gallery. From there she moved to Green Creek, North Carolina and worked in the hospice industry. Rita operated her grooming shop in Spartanburg, South Carolina where she made many friends. Rita loved to travel and used her earnings from the dog world to fund her adventures around the world. It was her wish that her estate be used to educate young people about the environment as a means to help protect it.
GENE TILLETT (1945-2003)
Gene (Wallace Eugen) Tillett of Tumwater, WA was born on February 5, 1945 in Fort Worth, Texas and moved to San Joaquin/Sacramento, California as a small child. He had a highly adventurist childhood there, reveling in his life long-love of the natural world and the creatures inhabiting it. He became an avid fisherman and hunter, and had commenced studies in the Fish Program at Utah State University when he was drafted for military service. He served in the U.S. Army and saw combat duty in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. After being discharged from the Army he earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in fisheries from the University of Washington. Early in his career he worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Douglas County Public Utility District. He had a 27-year career with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and its forerunner, the Department of Game. He spent the majority of his career in the Habitat Program, serving in various regions around the state. Since 1993, he served in the headquarters administration in Olympia. Gene is survived by his wife, Rochelle, and daughter, Hayley.
MARY FRANCES WHALEN (1925-2017)
Mary Frances Whalen was an educator. Not in a strict classroom sense, but in terms of broadening the horizons of those around her. She grew up in the small, close-knit community of Fort Benton, Montana on the upper Missouri River, some 40 miles to the north of Great Falls. Mary’s mother was a school teacher and together with her father, they nurtured a love of reading and education in their two girls.
Mary’s early life experiences in Fort Benton forged her life-long bond with Montana - Its people, places, and landscapes. She was an eastern Montana prairie girl — and proud of it. After graduating from Montana State College in the mid-1940s she was offered a job by the Montana State Extension Service, to work as a home extension agent, serving farming families in north central and northeast Montana. She was instrumental in the founding of the county library system in Hill County (Havre), and in providing mobile book delivery to rural families. These actions provide insight into how Mary continued a philosophy her parents instilled in her of the values of learning, and community engagement as life-long pursuits.
In 1950 Mary wed a young medical doctor, John Jack
Whalen, who had recently moved to Havre.
For the next 57 years, through a myriad of moves across the western United States involving military
service and career advancements for her husband, Mary managed the family’s home resources, and
the comings and goings of four children. All along the way she was active in her community and
pursued a career path of her own. Mary worked in home health care and family education programs
as a program administrator in Juneau assisting Southeast Alaska’s native population, and later, in
adult education programming with Spokane WA Community Colleges. In the 1980’s, while living in
Spokane, she received a commendation from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency for
mobilizing community efforts to establish the North Spokane Landfill as a superfund site, and for
securing mitigation measures to address on-going impacts.
As a part of Mary’s continuing support of education and community advocacy, all of her children were encouraged to pursue higher education and actively support the communities they lived in. These efforts bore fruit as all of her children went on to receive advanced college degrees and contribute to their respective communities through their own careers and volunteer service. Their chosen careers have included work in computer information systems development, fish and wildlife management, the practice of law, and administering community support programs via United Way. A continuing legacy of support for education, environmental stewardship, and community. Hallmarks of a life well lived.
Prepared and submitted by: John Whalen, son and WA Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, retired
STEVE PENLAND (1948-2014)
Steve Penland was a scientist. A humble and unassuming man, he quietly contributed to moving natural resource management in Washington away from a complete focus on hunted and fished animals and towards one that considered the value and importance of critters in our cities and our backyards — the ones that are part of our everyday lives.
"We have to take what Mother Nature gives to us and fully appreciate that gift." Steve practiced what he preached, and what Mother Nature gave to Steve was an artist’s eye for landscapes and the natural world. Life threw many challenges at him, and he turned to his art — photography — as a way to find peace and let others see beauty through his eyes.
Steve left us too soon, long before we tired of his unerring wit and his (curmudgeonly or rascally) charm. In his photos, we are fortunate that he left us many expressions of his art, his philosophy, his Zen: "One can find serenity in each moment of change by not looking back and not looking forward, but just by integrating oneself with the grand scheme of the present."
JOHN DOUGLAS (1926 – 2014)
John was born in 1926 in Yakima, Washington. After graduating from Yakima High School, he joined the Navy and served his country on a submarine in World War II. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1951 in Fisheries Management and began a 30 year career with the Washington Department of Game. He was a hatchery assistant, a biologist and retired as the Assistant Director for the agency. John was a Mason of Lodge No. 227 and a founding member of the Olympia Highlanders Pipe Band. John touched many with his love of the outdoors. He continued to hunt, garden and fish throughout his life, sharing that enthusiasm with his family and friends.
John was active in many conservation issues and organizations and understood that the future of our planet and society depended on connecting people to the landscape that supports them. He felt that one way to do this was through hunting and fishing. Toward that end he was an original board member of the Washington Wildlife Federation established in 1989 and continued to serve on that board until his death.
The Washington Wildlife Federation is pleased to recognize John’s contribution to conservation with a donation in his name to the Ecosystem Scholarship Fund. John always felt that one of the keys to the future of conservation was education. Thank you John for all your efforts.