Proud to call Ann my friend

Ann was one of the first people I met when I started work at the Dinosaur National Monument Quarry in 1990. Her calmness, intelligence, and friendliness drew me to her immediately. A few months after I started we decided to car pool together – some of my favorite parts of my time at Dinosaur were the trips to and from Jensen with Ann, listening to NPR & talking about (and sometimes solving!) the problems of the world. Through my years at the quarry I often got to see Ann’s skills in action. She helped train and counsel countless Association and Park Service seasonals, volunteers, and permanent employees, always sharing her knowledge with ease and generosity. She spoke on a level even us novices could understand – a rarity in the scientific community. I was just thinking that Ann must appear in literally hundreds of thousands of photographs – so many visitors took her picture either on the cliff face or working with the “not-an-allosaurus” - and she stopped what she was doing to talk to many of them. She made thousands of family vacations more interesting! School groups and elder hostels, visiting scientists, and even politicians benefited from spending a little time with Ann. Her excitement about her work was contagious, and she had great hope for the curatorial projects she was working on her last few years at Dinosaur.

Ann’s talents were endless. I can still hear her playing her trumpet in the Messiah production at Christmas time, and she was so excited when she got her beautiful new hammered dulcimer. She was such a terrific dog trainer, and she absolutely loved her dogs (and mine!) I can see her playing Frisbee with Elliott every morning before we left for work.

We formed many great friendships during the Dino years, even through some crazy times. "Relief Society Night" was always something to look forward to! When I left Dinosaur, Ann and Tom bought my house. Any time I was back in Vernal, I got to visit and see what cool new construction project they had in the works.

Ann has been part of my life for nearly 20 years. She visited us in Moab several times and joined us at our wedding. While we lived at the Grand Canyon she stopped over when she was teaching at Albright or on her way to Tucson, and she met me at my Mom & Dad’s for dinner in Grand Junction not long ago. Ann & Tom were some of the first people I talked to when I lost my sister in 2006, and Ann remained a constant source of comfort and support.

I don’t understand how National Park Service managers can treat some of their best so poorly (and some of their worst so well). Ann handled the fiasco surrounding her leaving Dinosaur the same way she handled everything – with calmness, diplomacy, professionalism, and grace (none of which Mary, Dan, & Wayne deserved.) Joan and the folks at Colorado National Monument were smart and lucky to make Ann part of their team. The best part is they knew it and they appreciated her.

Ann taught me so much about so many different things. I’ve lost a great friend and mentor. I am sorry for Tom, Karla, Kathy, Cedar, and Stikine; for Ann and Tom’s families; for all of us whose lives were made better by knowing Ann. There just aren’t enough words…