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Almost 25 years ago, Bruce and Kay came down to our place on Grays Harbor Estuary.  We were donating our “Hill House” to the WEC dinner silent auction.  For us, it was love at first sight.  Kay was like the stop motion films of days gone by where the flowers would open and bloom before your very eyes wherever she went.  We are so thankful to have been part of her journey and she ours.  We miss her.

Bruce, we love you too. 🙂

My path crossed with Kay’s when I was hired on to lead the Coast Salmon Partnership- which is working to protect the last best salmon populations in Washington State. I was truly an underdog- by resume, I was unqualified and had no experience on the ins and outs of being an executive director- let alone fundraising. As a small fledgling nonprofit, fundraising was the first of many challenges I would face. Somehow, word of my hiring reached Kay and before I knew it our paths were forever linked. Kay saw something in me that I was unable to see in myself- and she rooted for my success. She believed that my passion and grit were more valuable than my knowledge of nonprofit structure. She was my trusted confidant, the person I reached out to when I needed to talk through strategy, or complain about the conservation world’s lack of progress. When I was offered a position at the Wild Salmon Center, Kay was the first person we all called. The Harder Foundation has funded both organization’s work and we wanted to make sure that my transfer would not rock Kay’s boat. Kay did not skip a beat in her support- after rigorous questioning of course about our transition strategy.

I have had the distinct privilege of spending time showcasing our work out in the field with both Bruce and Kay. I will forever cherish that time spent on the beautiful coast of the Olympic Peninsula- sharing stories of protests, and fighting to protect what you love and believe in over dinner and wine around the campfire.

Since Kay passed, the world feels a bit off kilter. I have lost a sense of peace that I had knowing that Kay was walking around the earth helping to provide inspiration as I fight the daily battle of conserving and restoring critical ecosystems. I find myself out in the garden a lot lately, asking my garden plants for their advice on my most recent conservation strategies. I firmly believe that Kay is listening and can feel her energy! My tomatoes must be feeling it too- because they are growing leaps and bounds. I only hope that Kay’s strength and grit will continue to help me grow as I move forward  in my conservation career. Thanks Kay and Bruce for believing in me and the tough work that we do!

Early on, a therapist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance asked Kay “so how do you feel about your diagnosis?”  In a heartbeat she responded “well, at least I won’t have to endure the 2020 election”.

Since I live in New Mexico and run a regional nonprofit where I’m a step removed from the trials and tribulations of Pacific Northwest advocacy, I didn’t get to know Kay nearly as well as I would have liked. But all of my meetings with her were memorable, and I always looked forward to my visits with her in Tacoma when I’d make my semi-annual pilgrimage to Washington state.

She was warm, funny, whip smart, and powerful. She held a clear-eyed view of the world that could be perceived as hard-edged cynicism but was, in my estimation, a profound conviction and determination to make the world a better place. In our conversations, she’d ask good, hard questions–questions that always navigated the conversation toward uncovering a sense of possibility and finding the pathway to make that possibility a reality.

I don’t know what her beliefs were, but there’s a part of me–who grew up in the industrial, blue-collar reaches of the Hudson Valley that doesn’t seem (metaphorically) too distant from Tacoma and Puget Sound–that she’s now joyfully traversing her home landscape which inspired her in all of its beauty and possibility, but free of the toxic pollution that sparked her too-soon passage from this world. Much love to her family and all who knew her well. She will be missed.

-Erik

So many memories of Kay:  World Bank activism,  visits with community leaders fighting bad projects, assorted shenanigans aimed at helping foundations make better choices.  She made it all so much more…fun. (Also, way more effective, but for some reason, the fun is what I remember most vividly).  This picture comes from a too-brief, but deeply appreciated gift of a weekend with Kay in December 2018.  Having assessed that 99% of the ornaments had eco-themes, we decided to decorate the tree according to biological taxonomy.  Vigorous debate ensued about the location of birds vs. mammals and reptiles.  Allowances were made for food chains and predations.  We laughed–a lot.  Now I can’t decorate a tree any other way. 

There was no better colleague than Kay.  Her get-it-done, no-time-to-waste and strategic sensibility inspired us all. She had fire in her belly for a better world, which I wish more of us did!  Here she is a year ago, with me, Keiki Kehoe, and Amy Solomon.  Bruce, one devoted husband, took the shot.

Love out to you, Kay.  You live in our hearts.