Recent Tributes

The Tributes are the most recent stories and comments added to the memorial. To add a new story or comment, you may visit the Stories link in the main navigation.

  • 01/01/2010: New Story added: New Year's 2010

    To all, friends and family alike, on New Year's Day:   The Hasidic master Rabbi Zusya, on his deathbed, said the following to his grieving disciples,  “In the coming world, they will not ask me, ‘Why were you not ...

  • 12/25/2009: New Story added: Merry Christmas Annie....

    As this Christmas evening is ending, I am reflecting on the joys of the season and this day, a bit more empty than in years past.  It is a beautiful evening in Tucson and the stars are beginning to shine and I find myself looking upward...and ...

  • 12/21/2009: New Story added: At the Medicine Wheel

    At the Medicine Wheel I visited the Little Brush Creek Medicine Wheel with the Mountain Club on December 20th. Thus, it was actually Winter Solstice Eve.  We had received permission from the owners – it’s a privately ...

  • 12/05/2009: New Story added: NPS Director Ends "Core Ops"

    Posted December 4th, 2009 by Kurt Repanshek on his e-news site http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/home In a brief, four-paragraph memorandum, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis has brought to an end a budgeting process that stripped ...

  • 11/28/2009: New Story added: Thanksgiving

    On this, the first Thanksgiving without Ann, I am thankful for the wonderful friends who are bound together by their devotion to her.  I thank God for her family, and mine, for the support they have given me.  And most importantly, I am ...

  • 11/21/2009: New Story added: Stikine's Passing

    Dear Friends, Stikine had declined noticeably over the past week.  She was becoming incontinent, and her breathing was ragged and labored.  This morning, she couldn't move her bowels, after a long night of very rough breathing.  For ...

  • 11/21/2009: New Story added: Hounds of Heaven

    The Hound of Heaven    "Halts by me that footfall; Is my gloom, after all, Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly? 'Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,  I am He Whom thou seekest! Thou dravest love from thee, who ...

  • 11/02/2009: New Story added: Ann our everyday saint.

    I was at Mass yesterday as we celebrated All Saints Day.  November starts the month we pray for all those who have died in the past year. Clare, Kevin and I entered Ann in our book of prayer to be remembered by the whole parish. The priest ...

  • 09/07/2009: New Story added: Photos of Ann's Kestrel Release

    This was a wonderful though poignant event.  Photos courtesy Kathy Paulin and Loran Hills-Martin.

  • 09/06/2009: New Story added: The Kestrel's Release

    Kestrel release day This is what I tried to say to the people who gathered at Remember the Maine: “Thanks for coming. This is the last official ritual in honor of Ann. Denise told me way back in April that she thought that a bird for ...

  • 09/05/2009: New Story added: Annie's Falcon

    Ann’s Falcon 18 "There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: 19 the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man ...

  • 08/17/2009: New Story added: The Resting Place for Ann's Ashes

    Interring Annie's ...

  • 05/28/2009: New Story added: Another dedication to Ann

    Tom and friends, Last week the 8th Conference on Fossil Resources was held at the St George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, St George, Utah.  It was a great meeting, well attended by folks from every agency you can think of that deals ...

  • 05/01/2009: New Story added: Ann, still working miracles to protect the history of life on the earth !

      Dear Friends, I thought you would be happy to see this great progress towards the protection of our nation's paleontological resources. We know Ann devoted her life to this very work at one of the country's most ...

  • 04/22/2009: New Story added: Helper of the volunteers

    I recall with fondness how my acquaintance with Ann helped turn a crusty geologist into a kid again. It was not too long after arriving in Vernal and having met Ann in her professional role at Dinosaur National Monument that I became a ...

  • 04/19/2009: New Story added: Pictures from Maryland Service

  • 04/19/2009: New Story added: Maryland Memorial Service

    3200 Mar-Lu-Ridge Road, Jefferson, MD, 21755 East Coast Memorial Service Saturday, April 18th @ 4:00 p.m. Mar-Lu-Ridge, Conference and Educational Center 3200 Mar-Lu-Ridge Road Jefferson, MD 21755 DIRECTIONS TO MAR LU RIDGE From Baltimore ...

  • 04/19/2009: New Story added: Utah Memorial Service Saturday April 18

    138 N 100 W, Vernal, UT, 84078 On Earth Day, at St. James Catholic Church in Vernal, Utah, we will have the Western memorial service to our beloved wife, sister, aunt, daughter, and friend Ann. Please note that the time has been changed to 2:00 ...

  • 04/18/2009: New Story added: What would Ann want?

    I am sitting here in Michigan on a beautiful clear and sunny 75 degree day which happens so infrequently here. There are no majestic mountains or cliffs to walk to and I am 2 hours from Lake Michigan.  I am  in the middle of ...

  • 04/18/2009: New Story added: Ann's Memorial Day

    Early this morning, I made coffee, and drove up to Coyote Gulch.  Walking up in the half-light of dawn, I sat in my “interview” chair (a cheesy lawn chair that I have squirreled away underneath a juniper), and prayed a little, and ...

  • 04/17/2009: New Story added: across the street

    I miss living across the street from Tom and Ann, and what fun and great neighbors. I was very saddened by the news. Of course I immediatly think of past memories, and as it has struck many others, I miss Ann's great smile and happy attitude. My ...

  • 04/17/2009: New Story added: Remembering

    Remembering   It is said that you will remember someone by the way they made you feel. From reading all the great stories everyone has written about Ann I can truly see she made a lot of people feel loved, needed and respected. I ...

  • 04/17/2009: New Story added: Every Dog's, and Dog Lover's, Best Friend

    I met Ann eight years ago through Uintah Animal Care (UAC), a charitable organization that she was instrumental in founding whose members fostered and re-homed shelter dogs and cats.  As everyone who knew her knows, Ann had an abiding ...

  • 04/16/2009: New Story added: ALWAYS

    I remember the first time I met Ann. It was at a NPS ANCS+ training in Kemmerer, WY back in FY95. Boy... the stories she could tell about that quirky little town, but that's a whole other story - ha!  Well...I'd just adopted a Blue ...

  • 04/16/2009: New Story added: Our Sincere Sympathies

    To the entire NPS staff at Colorado National Monument and especially to Ann's family, all of us here at Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument send our thoughts and prayers to you.  While we grieve that Ann ...

  • 04/15/2009: New Story added: Always Room FOr One More

    I’ve only know Annie for about the last 5 years.  But boy did she leave a lasting impression.  I will forever hold the time that I was blessed with knowing such a magnificent person close to my heart.  And will often ...

  • 04/14/2009: New Story added: Remembering My Annie

    I knew Ann Schaffer but I did not know Ann Elder. From reading the stories here I wish I had. But nothing surprises me as the Annie I knew in school was on her way to great things. I may grieve the loss of a different Ann than many of ...

  • 04/13/2009: New Story added: Directions to Mar Lu Ridge (Memorial Service)

    Directions to Salem on the Mountain Chapel at Mar-Lu-Ridge: From Baltimore- Take I-70 West toward Frederck, MD.  Take Exit 52 (Route 15 South/340 West). After approximately 6 miles, follow the left lane exit to Route 15 South towards ...

  • 04/13/2009: New Story added: Yes, I remember Annie

    I remember, Annie.  I’m certainly not alone in struggling to find the words to describe how I remember Ann, but I found some wisdom that for me brings a bit of focus – A friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your ...

  • 04/12/2009: New Story added: Not Just a VIP

    Dear Tom,   Don and I went with Ann to a lecture on Wednesday night, had pizza on Thursday night and waved goodbye to her Friday afternoon as she went into the CNM office to say goodbye to staff. We were on our way to be with family in ...

  • 04/12/2009: New Story added: Ann and St. Francis of Assisi

      On this Easter Sunday as I think about my friend, Ann, I am reminded again of her radiant innate goodness, her countless acts of kindness given to all she encountered and her very special connection ...

  • 04/12/2009: New Story added: HOPE

    Dear Tom, When I called on Sunday March 29 and your brother told me that Ann was in the hospital, I was surprised to say the least.   I had no idea it was so serious.  I just heard the news this week and was heartbroken.  Tom, ...

  • 04/12/2009: Sue Husch added a comment to Ann's Animals

    Thanks Tom, for sharing this with all of us. Vini is right, you are now part of the "dog people" and I very much appreciate the update and the remembrances. And congrats Kathy on now being "owned by Cedar"!

  • 04/12/2009: New Story added: 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 – ...

  • 04/11/2009: New Story added: A life well lived

    Only once in a great while do you run across a person who, by their very nature, has a certain ease and grace about them. Ann Elder was that type of person. No matter what storms surrounded her, she was always the person who radiated balance and a ...

  • 04/11/2009: New Story added: Our very special friend, Ann

     What can I say about this wonderful, unassuming little woman that hasn't been said already? She was the most thoughtful, sincere, caring and compassionate person that you could ever meet. Your problems were her problems, or perhaps, her ...

  • 04/09/2009: New Story added: More photos of Ann

    Our Annie lived life large;  she went places.

  • 04/09/2009: New Story added: Thank you, Ann

    I enjoyed the great privilege of knowing Ann Elder.   I read in a novel that members of some southwest Native American tribe (Navajo? Hopi?) have a notion of the "valuable man." I don't know if this is true, but it is one of those ...

  • 04/09/2009: New Story added: Educating by love and example

    Dear Tom, Steve and I were heart sick to learn of the passing of your sweet Ann.  After reading through her memorial stories and your loving comments we regret that we did not know her well.  You were a team that contributed so much to ...

  • 04/09/2009: New Story added: Ann, we hardly knew ya'

    I rejoice in the fact that Ann touched my life.  I was just getting to know her, but the sight of her coming down the hall with a smile on her face & a bounce in her step will live in my heart forever.  The Colorado National Monument ...

  • 04/09/2009: New Story added: Ann

     Ann had a great smile and a true spirit.  She was a very special lady and it was a gift to know her. May her memory be eternal and God bless you all. We are so sorry for your loss.  Brad & Rula Bullock

  • 04/09/2009: New Story added: Bob Cat

    I worked with "Miss Ann" at Mar Lu Ridge during the 1970s.  I remember that one week we were both working staff and were not assigned to a group of campers.  We were at the upper camp attending an evening event, and after it was ...

  • 04/08/2009: New Story added: Remembering Ann

    I first met Ann during seasonal training at Fossil Butte National Monument in 1987.  I was a brand new seasonal excited to share the fossil story with visitors to this magnificent place.  Ann came up from Dinosaur to teach us all about ...

  • 04/08/2009: New Story added: Ann - You will be missed

    I have known Ann for the past 23 years as I have worked for the Interemountain Natural History Association. During that time Ann was always helpful to the Association and went out of her way to answer visitor quesitons whenever they needed help. I ...

  • 04/07/2009: New Story added: To Ann

    When I was young, those that knew me may remember that I was something of a crybaby. That's not to say that I was a sad child--far from it--but even into my elementary days, if I got upset, there was a good chance I'd wind up bawling. At some point, ...

  • 04/07/2009: New Story added: love

    Dear Tom, How amazing you and Annie!!  You two are so special and wonderful. I have only questions,  love and compassion for you. We only see in the mirror only dimly now .... More soon, Love you deeply cousin Tom Adrienne

  • 04/07/2009: New Story added: love

    Dear Tom, How amazing you and Annie!!  You two are so special and wonderful. I have only questions,  love and compassion for you. We only see in the mirror only dimly now .... More soon, Love you deeply cousin Tom Adrienne

  • 04/07/2009: New Story added: Today is a Beautiful Day...

    Just wanted to say"Happy Birthday" Ann, we love you...

  • 04/07/2009: New Story added: A Nephew's Memory

    I was having a discussion with my mother a few months ago; we were talking about what happens to people when they die.  My religious views aren’t the strongest but I like to think that when people pass they are able to watch over the ones ...

  • 04/07/2009: Tom Elder added a comment to Happy Birthday Ann

    I'm pretty sure there are Lenten clauses that excuse this kind of behavior...