In Memorium

April Dawn Pierson-Keating

April 27, 1967 - September 28, 2019

April belonged to or worked with almost every environmental organization in West Virginia. She touched many lives, and her loss is greatly felt. Included on this page are just a few of the tributes written for her in the days and weeks after her passing.
 
Cindy Rank, WV Highlands Conservancy
Excerpted from https://wvhighlands.org/article/April/
     She was a challenge to the sleeping and unaware…. A conscience to those who might want to ignore uncomfortable realities…. A warrior sister with a twinkle in her eye. 
     April fanned the flames of enthusiasm in those already involved in protecting the earth and she lit more than a few new flames in folks along the way. 
Mentor to appreciative students during her work at WV Wesleyan College; April was also known, loved and admired by oh so many more these past 10 years as her environmental awareness and activism reached beyond Wesleyan. 
     Known mostly for her concern about water and clean energy, her presence was felt at home in Upshur County WV and throughout the state and region.
 
Michael M. Barrick, Appalachian Chronicle
Excerpted from appalachianchronicle.com/2019/09/29/
     The first time I met April Pierson-Keating in 2014, I immediately knew I had met a woman that had no time to waste when it came to fighting the natural gas companies that are damaging public health and destroying the environment throughout much of West Virginia through fracking and related pipeline development.…
     We must keep April’s voice alive. Nobody, of course, can replace her. Our hearts are heavy. But those of us who knew April know one thing for sure — she expects us to keep fighting for justice for the people of West Virginia and all of Appalachia. …
     April — though gone in the physical body — remains influential and even present today so long as we honor her life by fighting for justice with the same vigor with which she did. Let us live her example — fight until the very end. It is what, I believe, she expects of us.

Laura Mack, Appalachian Voices
Excerpted from http://appvoices.org/2019/10/17/
     The pipelines resistance and environmental movement lost a beloved and important member of our family on September 28 — April Pierson- Keating. Despite being diagnosed with cancer four years ago and fighting it vigorously, April continually worked to stop fracking and protect her West Virginia community and water up until the very end. 
     We all have a unique role to play in this resistance family that moves our work forward and ensures we have a fighting chance at necessary victory; the phenomenal notetaker for conference calls, the great public speaker, the one who checks in on folks who’ve had a hard day. April filled a lot of these roles, but one in particular stands out to me. She made sure that West Virginians, and particularly directly impacted communities in northern West Virginia, were never forgotten or left out of the conversations to stop fracking and fossil fuel use. …
     April, we love you. We miss you. We’ll keep fighting for you and for our future. I will always be looking at who’s at the table because of you.
 
Robin Blakeman, OVEC
Excerpted from https://ohvec.org/goodbye-april/
     We’ve lost a great warrior in the West Virginia environmental activist family. April Pierson-Keating passed from our midst September 28; she was only 52 years old. 
     She lived those years to the fullest, however, and many of us were lucky enough to call her a friend and colleague. April was the founder and director of Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance, and a founding member of POWHR (Preserve Our Water Heritage and Rights). She was a board member of the Buckhannon River Watershed Association, a board member of ICARE, a cancer research group, a board member of the WV Environmental Council, and a member of the Sierra Club, the WV Highlands Conservancy, and OVEC. 
     One of her last acts on this earth was to organize the 2019 Buckhannon Riverfest—a festival honoring the water systems she and her family depend upon; the event was held in late August this year.
     We are in awe of April’s relentless work, even in her last days. In the last email we received from her, on September 24, four days before her death, she was definitely still working for environmental justice, related to the Antero “Clearwater” fracking waste water processing plant, which is now being shut down.
     I’m sure April’s powerful spirit will be with us in our ongoing efforts to ensure clean water and air for future generations in our state and region. Let’s rise up and follow her example. 
     There is a hashtag trending, and we encourage adopting it as a slogan for your life: #BeLikeApril

Laura Yokochi, WV Sierra Club
     (9/29/19) April died yesterday morning. Even though she talked about her cancer, it was a shock. She never looked or acted sick but was still advocating for environmental justice until the very end. I was honored to work with her on several committees and went on one of her frack tours with Kevin. I was always impressed with the vast amount of knowledge she had about gas issues and her seemingly endless energy.
      (11/4/19) I count myself fortunate to have known and worked with April over the past five years. Her relentless determination, energy, and dedication were remarkable, especially in one who was privately suffering from a deadly illness. She was always ready and willing to volunteer when needed for any committee or event. She was a pleasure to work with and her life was an inspiration.

Aileen Curfman, WV Sierra Club
     When I attended my first ExCom meeting in Buckhannon last January, I went to lunch with a group that include a petite, intense young woman, who immediately impressed me with her passionate opposition to the fracking and pipeline development in the region. A few months later, one of her Gasland tours opened my eyes to the devastation she was battling in her community. She’d mentioned her illness quite casually, as if it were no big deal. To April, the big deal was the devastation caused by fossil fuels. As she told me, “Other issues are secondary. If we destroy the place where we live, nothing else will matter.” A few months after that, she was gone.
     April has been my teacher. She has shown me what fierce dedication and fearlessness look like. I will do my best with what she has taught me. I can follow her example, but I could never fill her shoes.

Natalie Thiele, WV Sierra Club
     Our keynote performer at SierraFest, Andrew McKnight, filled our hearts with encouragement and inspiration. He memorialized our good friend and Chapter leader, April Pierson-Keating, who was especially dedicated to the thought of pushing communities in West Virginia closer to 100% renewable energy.
     We want to take a moment to keep April in our hearts, honor her, and feel our loss. She meant a great deal to protectors and fighters all over the region, nation, and world. She always seemed so upbeat and tireless, smart and tough, and deeply caring. One thing we really admire about her is that she staked out a patch of territory to defend, and she got to work. April led so many of us into this work, and we are proud to have known her. We are so sorry she is gone, and we are sending our love to the people who feel her loss the keenest.
 
Kevin Campbell, friend and companion
Excerpts from a taped reminiscence on 11/5/19
     A.P. was born in Charleston, on April 27, 1967, just five years after her mother, Iris Bell, wrote the state Centennial Song “This is My West Virginia.” Her parents were two-thirds of the Iris Bell trio. Her father, Derek Pierson, was a bass player and sound engineer. Mom was the composer and the keyboardist.
April wasn’t afraid of anything or anyone, and feeling always out of place, she kind of gravitated towards the unique people in the room. April was unique, and she gravitated towards very unique people.
     At the age of 21, she married Bernard Keating, “Chip,” and she continued her journey with him. He was definitely a stabilizing force in her life, and they soon had three kids, and she turned into supermom. …
     When the water crisis started because of the spill in Charleston, we dove into it headlong. She was already involved with Friends of Water, and we started pushing that around the state. We got down to candlelight vigils in Charleston, we hooked up with West Virginia Rivers, OVEC, Highlands Conservancy … every environmental group, environmental council. … She started Mountain Lakes Preservation Alliance.
     [At one meeting,] I watched April moving around that room with that cordless mike, getting people’s questions, like she was an expert at this stuff … And she wasn’t. She was just the homeschool mom, fiercely — as Cindy Rank said earlier today — fiercely going after everything, and usually smiling. 
     The April I met eight years ago was the healthiest, strongest female I have ever met. She taught yoga, she did aerobics, she danced, she rode her bike to school in the summer. For 10 of the last 12 years, she mentored students at the college level. There’s kids out there that have their degrees because she took the time to read ‘em every question on a test. 
     She’s been changing lives for a long time. She had a husband for 31 years, and me as a partner for the last 8, which became very, very fortunate, because if you have a terminal illness in this country, you need way more support than you have. Chip worked until he was 70 years old, just so she would have insurance for her cancer treatment. I quit doing everything to be at her disposal, to take her to every appointment. … And we travelled. Over 100 thousand miles in the last four years. A lot of that was medical. 
     [In between chemo treatments], she had to detox for three weeks before doing anything else, and during that three weeks, we got to Oakland [Calif.] to represent West Virginia [at the national Sierra Club’s annual meeting of the Council of Club Leaders]. We had an opportunity to tell them some of what we have done here and let them know how much we need help. We were able to attend the awards ceremony, do a little bit of sight-seeing, and spend three days with her son down in L.A. before flying home. … So, we got back from California, which was the trip of a lifetime for her.
     Anyway, the environmental people know April from her work. The college people know April from that work. There’s restaurants that will never forget April. There are scores of students from Gifted that’ll never forget April. There’s her family; there’s my family, my extended family. My grandkids are used to seeing her every Christmas. I’m used to seeing her sisters every summer. Our common denominator was a very unique individual.
Dominion Energy will never forget April. That’s for damn sure. The people that told her, “You’ll never stop the pipeline” or, “They’ll never overturn a permit once it’s been issued.” 
     I’m going to go scatter some of April’s ashes at the Buckhannon River, where the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is already buried on the ridge next to it. It runs 10 miles toward Queens. But that pipeline does not go across the Buckhannon River today because of the work that April did, including getting Sierra Club into the fight.
     She’ll be remembered for many things, and maybe the environmental stuff is only a small part of her life. It was a huge life, and an even bigger loss.

 

Dr. Helen M. Lang

December 2, 1946 - December 17, 2017

By Mary Wimmer

Sadly, this is the third memorial I have written over the past year for close friends made through WV Sierra Club, so please, stop leaving us! Helen Lang now joins Jim Sconyers and Ann Devine-King as departed members who played leadership roles, as well as thrived on the outings and social aspects of the Club. It’s been a rough year, as our Outings Leader Mike Price, whom I did not know as well, also passed.

Helen came to West Virginia in 1984 as the first woman to hold a tenure-track position in the Department of Geology and Geography at West Virginia University. She did very well, as Tom Kammer describes in her University obituary (https:www.geo. wvu.edu), including the leadership role she took not only in her geology teaching and her research on metamorphic rocks, but also in supporting and encouraging women in science. I loved to hear all the stories about the students and the field trips that she led for decades, from WV to Baltimore to Maine to the West, camping out with them and enjoying the outdoor laboratory experience.

Helen got involved in the WV Chapter of Sierra Club soon after coming here, putting her energy into the local Monongahela Group, which she chaired between 1989 and 1991, after our good friend Jamie Shumway. When Jamie was diagnosed with ALS in 2008, Helen and I were together with him and his wife Betsy Pyle for the duration (6 years). We had meals together several times a week, watched movies and more sports events, and got together once a month for a potluck with a close group of Sierra Club friends to support each other. Helen always did the spring Eastertime event, making 3 delicious kinds of waffles (lemon, gingerbread and whole wheat) to contribute. Since Jamie’s passing in October, 2014, we have kept these potlucks going.

I got to know Helen best through these gatherings, as well as WV Sierra Club outings. Like the rest of us, she loved hiking, backpacking, and XC skiing, anything outside! She was always ready to do anything! I remember one beautiful autumn day, I invited her to go on a drive through the Monongahela National Forest to look at the colors. We were gone for over 4 hours, weaving our way along my favorite back roads! We jabbered the entire trip, nonstop, about who knows what – that’s what stuck with me about that trip. I never remembered the topics, but if we did any long drive, like to visit WV Sierra Club buddies Lynn and Greg, who had moved to Takoma Park, I knew I would not be falling asleep at the wheel.

A special outing was our Annual Blackwater Falls State Park Winter Outing, staying in cabins and enjoying the snow, or no-snow! Friday’s dinner was always at Siriani’s in Davis. We wouldn’t miss the hike or ski to Lindy Point, either from the sledding hill parking lot, or the trailhead if the gate was open. We particularly enjoyed visiting Chip and XC skiing at White Grass in Canaan Valley, and eating the great food there that Chip’s wife Laurie cooks. Such a warm, wonderful, thriving atmosphere!

I distinctly recall the most outstanding weekend at Blackwater, January 2016. Helen‘s Friday morning class was cancelled due to the weather forecast, so she, Betsy Pyle and I were able to head out around 9. Just as we got to our lovely Blackwater Falls cabin, the snow began, and it did not end until late Sunday, after over 3 feet fell, literally covering the cars and all else! We were elated! Snowshoes helped pack down snow for XC skiers following on the trails just outside our cabin, and the coziness of the cabin, with good friends safely inside, a warm fire, and lots of great food and drink made for a 3-day weekend that could not have been beat. The BFSP guys kept the roads cleared throughout, and when we got home, Colleen, Betsy and I went to Helen’s to shovel her driveway, a major task!

Back home, Helen and I loved sitting at her table watching the birds at her safflower and thistle seed feeders and birdbath. Cardinals, chickadees, tufted titmice, and goldfinches were the most common, and used the overhanging shrubs, which Helen always vowed to cut down, as their staging area. She so entertained me when the chipmunks would come to the feeders from the back field and load up their jowls with food. She didn’t get mad (we both loved them, I think), but she would open the door repeatedly and gently holler at them to skedaddle! They would run up the wall, and return the minute the door closed. I could have laughed at this show for hours! Helen would definitely let us know if she was not interested in the topic of conversation. One example was retirement, especially finances (no money problem here, she just hated financial planning!). Another was when we used to tease her about going into work every day, including faculty meetings, even though she was retired, and one day she just let us have it! We never did that again!

For most of the past 3 years, Helen, Betsy and I got together often to cook, drink a brew or wine, and relax, often watching a movie or WVU football or basketball game, taking a walk around her neighborhood, or just talking. We shared recipes, like her pasta with porcini mushroom sauce (the dried mushrooms from her trip to Italy). She brought back little horse cookie cutters from her trip to Sweden, knowing I’d love to use them for our Annual Christmas Cookie decorating party/potluck at my house. [Their first use was for Dec. 17, the day Helen left us.]

Helen was an amazing individual, courageous, optimistic and determined. Without a partner or children, she was very protective of her independence, especially through some difficult health issues. She dealt bravely with whatever got thrown at her, much more than many could handle. From a bone marrow transplant in the mid 1990’s, and its long term after-effects, to a crushed femur and broken arm more recently, she was not at all a complainer, and accepted our help readily (we were her “family”). Betsy and I certainly got to know the ER with Helen. But she was so easy to be around, even when hurt or ill, that helping her was not at all a chore.

My last outing with Helen was to Olgebay Park on December 7, three days before she suffered a cardiac arrest, 10 days before she left us. We rode together on the WVU Retirees’ bus. Although struggling with walking, and lack of energy, but determined as usual to persevere, she enjoyed the Festival of Lights, glass museum and demonstration, and meal. We each left with an attractive red and white Olgebay mug, which I use regularly to remind me of her, my very close friend.

The WVU Department of Geology and Geography will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Helen Lang on Friday, March 23, 2018, in Brooks Hall, WVU Downtown Campus. A reception will begin at 3 p.m. in 202 Brooks Hall, followed by a presentation at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, gifts to the Dr. Helen Lang Legacy Endowment are appreciated. The Endowment will be dedicated to supporting women undergraduate and graduate students, as well as early-career women faculty, in Geology. Checks payable to the WVU Foundation with "3V0194" in the memo section will be accepted at One Waterfront Place, 7th Floor; P.O. Box 1650; Morgantown WV 26507. Gifts can also be made online at secure.give.wvu.edu/3V1094. For more information, contact Department Chair Tim Carr at Tim.Carr@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-5603. 

                                                                                                                                                                     

Ann Devine-King

August 3, 1954 - September 2, 2017

Ann Terese Devine-King, RPT, MS, died suddenly on September 2, 2017, at her home in Morgantown, West Virginia, at the age of 63. She was born on August 3, 1954 in Iowa City, Iowa, the youngest daughter of Arthur and Marilyn Devine. Ann was employed as a Physical Therapist at Healthsouth MountainView Regional Rehab Hospital since its opening in 1991. She attended the University of Vermont, graduating in 1976, where she earned her BS in Physical Therapy. She would go on to earn her MS in Exercise Physiology at West Virginia University. She married Gary King in 1979 in the state of Virginia, and soon moved to the mountain state of West Virginia, where they began their family and careers.

Ann had an intense love for the outdoors and was a key figure in the local hiking community and the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club. She was also an active member of the Morgantown Search and Rescue group, and on several occasions helped locate lost people throughout the state. Her love for the outdoors also led her to explore glaciers in New Zealand, repair mountain passes in Patagonia, and hike and camp in numerous national parks such as Zion, Arches, and Yosemite. Her caring and passion let Ann be such an incredible friend and mentor to those around her, both during her career as a Physical Therapist and to those she knew socially. Indeed, the impact Ann had on the world and those she met along the way was overwhelmingly positive as she left every place or person she met better after they had met her.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her daughter, Colleen Devine-King. She is survived by her husband Gary Devine-King, son MSgt Joshua Devine-King and his wife Malisa, grandson Connor Devine-King, Brother Dr. Bill Devine and his wife Patricia, and Sister Kathy Fishman and her husband Paul. Friends and co-workers will be received at the Dering-Henson Funeral home in Morgantown on September 13, 2017, from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30p.m., followed by a celebration of life at 1p.m. for family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made in Ann's name to the Sierra Club foundation at P.O Box 4142, Morgantown WV 26504, with "WV Chapter" in the subject line. Online donations can be made by clicking the "Donate" button on the right-hand sidebar of this web page. Condolences to www.dering-henson.com.

 

Christopher Hale

April 15, 1972 - June 25, 2017

Christopher Selwyn Hale, 45, of Beckley, passed away Saturday, June 25, 2017. He was born April 15, 1972, in Washington, D.C., to Bernard W. Hale and Joan Urband Hale and raised in Berea, Kentucky. He attended Brooks School in North Andover, MA, and graduated from Berea Community School and then attended Berea College. He was raised in the Catholic faith.
 
Chris is survived by his parents, Bernard W. Hale of Beckley, WV, and Joan Urband Hale of Louisville, KY; brothers Matthew Hale (formerly of Beckley) and Augustine Hale of Louisville; uncle Kevin B. Hale; Wood Dale Il; and the Kustan family in Florida.
 
Chris was recently employed by the Beckley Newspapers. He was the Founder and Chair of Friends of Water, current Conservation Chair and Executive Committee member for the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, worked with Citizens Climate Control and West Virginia Mineral Owners Coalition, and was a volunteer group leader for Citizens Climate Lobby for Southern West Virginia. Chris has done work that has positively affected the lives of thousands through the social media-based group he founded, which has encouraged citizen action in the area of public health.
 
He was a talented musician and had performed in Kentucky, Nashville, Louisville, St. Augustine, Savannah, Atlanta and other cities. He had previously worked in the hotel management business, in coal mine security and white water rafting-related business. The response of so many people to his family is a testament to the public advocacy work in which he was involved

 

Mike Price

August 31, 1954 - February 25, 2017

Mike Price

Michael (Mike) D. Price, 62, of Deepwater, WV, passed away Saturday, February 25, 2017. Mike served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was an employee of WVA Manufacturing, formerly Elkem Metals for 40 years.

Mike was an avid outdoorsman and an active member of the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, serving as the Outings Chair and on the Chapter Executive Committee. He is preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Marlene Price; wife, Tina Price. He is survived by his children, Misty Hurley of Edmond, Daniel Price of Boomer, Rachel Price of Hugheston; sister, Karen Price of Waverly, TN; brother, Allen Price of Hurricane and 11 grandchildren. Mike will be laid to rest with a private family service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations of sympathy be made to the Sierra Club at www.sierraclub.org or Paddle for Peace at www.paddleforpeace.org.

The May/June 2017 edition of the WV Sierran chapter newsletter features a memorial to Mike. You can download it here.

 

Jim Sconyers

November 16, 1943 - December 12, 2016

Jim Sconyers, North Fork Mountain, 1992

James M. "Jim" Sconyers, 73, of Cranesville, WV, died on Monday, December 12, 2016, at his home.

Born on November 16, 1943, in Yazoo City, MS, he was the son of the late Joseph and Virginia (Post) Sconyers.

Jim obtained degrees from Hampden-Sydney College, University of Virginia and West Virginia University. He worked for numerous years as a teacher in both the Preston County, WV, and Garrett County, MD, schools.

Jim was one of the original founders of the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club.  He remained a tireless leader in the Chapter from its formation in 1984 until his death. Jim dedicated the latter half of his life to protecting the environment and wild lands of West Virginia, serving as a volunteer organizer, activist, staff member and long-time Chair of the WV Chapter of the Sierra Club.

In 2013, for his unwavering dedication, he was recognized with a lifetime service award from the national Sierra Club. Jim will be remembered as an avid hiker and kayaker, devoted dog dad, birdwatcher, and beer enthusiast. He was also a wildflower aficionado and naturalist, who enjoyed living off the grid

He is survived by a son, Jacob Sconyers and wife Nikki Stewart of Boston, MA; one sister, Jan Harrod and husband Bill of Fairfax, VA; and three brothers, David Sconyers and Donna Ventriss of Sarasota, FL, Mike Sconyers and Molly Ackerly of Norfold, CT, and Jeff Sconyers and Deb Godfrey of Seattle, WA; and a number of nieces and nephews. He had a long and happy marriage to Judy (Squires) Sconyers, and a long, amicable, and even happier divorce from her.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, PO Box 4142, Morgantown, WV 26504 or by visiting our "Get Involved" web page.

The March/April 2017 edition of the WV Sierran chapter newsletter features a special memorial section honoring Jim's life and legacy. You can download it here.