June 11, 1974 - April 15, 2020
Mary Ellen Kiesau, 45, of Mazama, WA, passed peacefully at sunrise on April 15, 2020 after a battle with Melanoma. Born on June 11, 1974, in Durham, NC, Mary was educated in the Durham and Pittsboro, public schools. She graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Math in 1992. She attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Physiology and Sports Science in 1996. At UNC she was on the rowing team and played soccer.
As a teenager, Mary’s first job was sous-chef at The Hilltop Restaurant in Pittsboro, NC. She also worked security at sporting events during her college years. In 1997, she was sponsored by the Student Conservation Association for placement with the National Trust of Scotland in Glencoe. In 1998, she became the State Environmental Protection Act Coordinator in the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Raleigh, NC. From 1998-2001, she was the Solutions to Sprawl Campaign Coordinator with the Sierra Club in Raleigh, NC. and was instrumental in NC’s General Assembly passing the Million Acres Open Space Act of 2000, a signature issue for the North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club.
In 2001, Mary moved to Seattle, WA. and worked as the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Campaign Coordinator for the Sierra Club until 2005, when she moved to The Methow Valley where she was the Educational Programs Director with The Methow Conservancy for 13 years. In 2014, Mary returned to school at Western Washington University earning her Master of Education in Environmental Education where she was the Outstanding Graduate recipient for the Environmental Studies Department. She developed and created Mountain Kind Naturalist, an online community hub for natural history in the Methow Valley. From 2007 until she passed, Mary was also renowned for her photography and Environmental Education Business, Mountain Kind, for which she taught photography, naturalist and art classes, and created beautiful photographic art.
Mary was a seven-year board member at TwispWorks, a six-year board member of the Washington Native Plant Society, and she was a member of the Washington Wine community working at Lost River Winery and Brix Wine Bar in Winthrop. She completed the intensive 16-week Master Gardener Training Program through Washington State University Extension in July 2010. In 2017, she earned a Wildlife Track and Sign Level III Certification. Mary loved cooking, hiking, skiing, biking, going to the movies and The Merc Playhouse, traveling in her camper van, rock climbing, wine tasting, yoga and volunteering as an active member of her community.
Mary is preceded in death by her father David Jennings Kiesau, cousin Susan Kiel, and beloved dog Ceilidhl.
Mary’s memory is cherished and honored by her life partner, Merle Kirkley from Mazama, WA, her mother Carolyn Renee Townsend and stepfather Albert Cowardin Capehart Jr. of Pittsboro, NC, her sister Jennifer Ann Krantz, and niece Sara Elizabeth Krantz of Durham, NC, her step-brother Albert Cameron “AC” Capehart and wife Carolyn Fay and their daughter Samantha “Sam” of Charlottesville, VA, Aunt Jane Kiel of Leesburg, FL, Uncle Robert F. Kiesau of La Crosse, WS, Uncle Bert Townsend and wife Elaine of San Luis Obispo, CA, Uncle David Townsend and wife Lesley of Visalia, CA., Uncle Joe Townsend and wife Doris of Redmond, WA., Uncle John Capehart and wife Jane of Winchester, VA, Aunt Ann Scott ‘Scotty’ Estis and wife Janet of Newport News, VA. She has cousins in California, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin, and friends all over the country. She will be missed by her “fur family” her dogs, Sora, Phoebe, and Freyja along with her Natty cat.
Mary was a passionate life-long learner and she believed that everyone is a student and a teacher, and that when we all share and learn with each other, we enrich our lives and strengthen our community.
There will be a celebration of Mary’s life and legacy on Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 2 p.m. at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, 204 W. Salisbury St., Pittsboro, NC 27312. (Corvid permitting).
No flowers please. You may send memorial contributions to the North Carolina Sierra Club, 19 W. Hargett St, Raleigh, NC 27601 or TwispWorks, 502 S. Glover St, Twisp, WA 98856.
“SHE WAS BRIGHT IN ALL ASPECTS”