America's State Parks Lost a Good Friend
The first paragraph of the obituary posted on December 3, 2011 says volumes about the personal life of one of America's State Parks long term Directors: Bill Morrissey, 2/28/1944 – 12/1/2011, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 1, after a 2-year battle with brain cancer. Bill died in the loving presence of his family, and surrounded by a web of friends and colleagues across the state and the country.
The National Association of State Park Directors knew Bill Morrissey as one of the dedicated and passionate state park directors that make up the organization. He served the state of Minnesota for 16 years in that capacity and after retiring in Minnesota he was appointed and served 2 more years as the state park director in Wisconsin.
Bill, pictured above on the right, was a champion of the mantra, " it's all about the Resources ", a theme often heard at the NASPD Leadership School. Under his leadership Minnesota created Natural and Cultural Resource and Environmental Education programs and the system added new parks and over 46,000 acres to the system. He was one of the first and most passionate advocates for the newly passed Legacy Amendment in Minnesota, that beginning in 2010, provided State Parks with stable funding for its system.
He often said his most important job as state park director was to find ways to help outstanding people such as other state park directors, DNR employees, key legislators, and various local officials, do excellent work in preserving natural areas and parks for the future.
He consistently let others step up and take credit for successes, but his peers and others recognized his work when he received the Reuel Harmon Award for exemplary service to Minnesota Parks and Trails and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the U of MN College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences.
Bill approached everything he took an interest in with unbounded passion. Among his passions were running in local races, in-line skating, water skiing, downhill skiing and hiking in Colorado, reading history, especially biographies and Civil War history. But his favorite passion, and one that his friends were encouraged to share with him, was gathering together with these friends and/or his family to sing Karaoke.
It is through the passionate service of professionals like Bill Morrissey the legacy of America's State Parks are assured. He will be missed, but his message of stewardship and his example of taking personal responsibility for protecting and preserving the resources of the states he represented are an inspiring legacy for all of America's State Parks, their leaders and advocates.
For more information about Bill Morrissey, go to: http://www.startribune.com/local/east/134945183.html
St. Paul Pioneer Press: http://www.twincities.com/ci_19460223?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com
Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota: http://www.parksandtrails.org/news_events/news/bill_morrissey_go_person_mn_parks_and_trails_dies
Published: 12/13/2011
