Richard James Stenmark
Marriages
Helen
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 8B Death Notice - December 25, 2013
Richard Stenmark, 82, Grand Junction, died Dec. 23, 2013, in
Grand Junction.
Services are pending with Martin Mortuary.
Mr. Stenmark was a National Park Service ranger.
He is survived by his wife, Helen; three daughters, Kristen Baker
of Temecula, Calif., Karina Simmers of Anchorage, Alaska, and
Maren Stenmark of Fall City, Wash.; three sisters, Coral Loy of Victoria,
Canada, Linda Stenmark of Mexico, and Thelma Perkin of
Denver; and four grandchildren.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 5B Obituary - December 31, 2013
June 5, 1931 - December 23, 2013
Richard passed away at Hope
West Hospice Care Center in
Grand Junction, CO on December
23, 2013, from Multiple Myeloma,
at the age of 82.
Born and raised in South Denver,
CO; he graduated from Colorado
A&M college (CSU Ft. Collins)
in 1954 with a degree in Forest
Management. He was drafted into
the US Army 27th infantry Regiment 1954-56. After discharge he
began a 37-year career as a National Park Ranger, starting at Rocky
Mountain National Park. He also served at Grand Teton NP, Sequoia
NP, Kings Canyon NP, and Yosemite NP. His last 19 years as a Ranger
were spent at Mt. McKinley National Park (Denali NP) in Alaska
where he retired in 1989 as Deputy Regional Director of the Alaska
Region National Park Service.
One of his favorite activities was mountain climbing. He climbed all
the 14ers in Colorado, and other western state high mountains, and
in Mexico and Hawaii. In May 1961 he reached the summit of Mt.
McKinley via the West Buttress route with John Graham and 2 Swiss
mountaineers. He was an active member of the Colorado Mountain
Club since high-school days, were he met his wife, Helen.
As one of the first NPS rangers and early climbers to summit the
mountain (Mt. McKinley), he developed thoughts on appropriate
expansion of Mt. McKinley National Park. In 1969 he was assigned
by Secretary of Interior Walter Hickel to head an Advisory Committee
involved in the protection of existing National Parks and federal
lands in Alaska during the implementation of the Alaska Native Land
Claims Settlement Act (ANILCA) following Alaska Statehood. He
started compiling a list of potential new and expanded park lands,
traveling around the state to consult with native tribes and Alaska
conservationists.
In 1970 he urged NPS Director George Herzog and Subcommittee
Chairman Senator Alan Bible (NV) to make a field trip to Alaska and
see what was at stake. This led to the formation of the Joint Federal -
State Land Use Planning commission for Alaska, inventory of known
resources, and a map of the land areas proposed for protection and
conservation units.
In 1974 Mr. Stenmark’s services and knowledge were offered to the US
House of Representatives and US Senate as they developed legislation
regarding the proposed national interest lands. He was instrumental in
the expansion of Mt. McKinley National Park to include its southern
side and the glaciers radiating from the Mountain, as well as other
scenic mountains, valleys and wildlife habitats in the Alaska Range.
Richard’s knowledge and skills were the key to the success for the new
and expanded Alaska National Parks under ANILCA. On December 2,
1980, President Carter signed ANILCA into law.
Richard supported adopting the Native name “Denali” (the High One)
for Mt. McKinley and the Park, which was accomplished.
He assisted with operations of the expanded national park system in
Alaska until his retirement as Deputy Regional Director in 1989. He
had resided in Grand Junction since 1992.
He is survived by his wife, Helen; three daughters, Kristen Baker,
CA, Karina Simmers, Anchorage, AK, Maren Stenmark, WA; 3 sisters
Coral Loy, Thelma Perkin, and Linda Horowitz, and 4 grandchildren.
