Remembering Tim Parkany

This fall Natural Lands Trust lost a great supporter, a co-worker who contributed so much to building stewardship on our preserves and beyond. Tim Parkany passed away on October 29, 2012, far too early. This past weekend there was a memorial service, an opportunity to share stories and remember what he has added to our lives.

As a few of his close friends pointed out, he might have been skeptical of such a service. But the content was personal and meaningful. I learned things about Tim I hadn’t known before—he had a life outside of Natural Lands Trust and was generous with his time, using his extensive skills to help others.

He was a perfectionist too—that I knew. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. He didn’t just do things, he wanted to know why—how they fit in to the big picture. Although he was a member of the Building Stewardship Department, he attended land management training sessions on hazard trees and more, so that he could fit that in to how he worked with materials and on the buildings that support our conservation mission. He was an artisan as well as a talented artist.

He loved to debate and challenged what many would take for granted. He leaves behind a legacy of structures and improvements on our preserves that will not be forgotten, from Saunders Woods to Paunacussing to Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve. He was a mentor to many, and inspires us with his not taking shortcuts that would shortchange future generations. One of his last projects was the solar array at the Management Center at Gwynedd Wildlife Preserve.

Tim, we can’t believe you’re gone, and we miss you terribly.

Posted by Daniel Barringer on December 10, 2012.