270024 Create Memorial
Bookmark and Share

 

button
 
Memorial Service

                                                                  


Hi Everyone,


Mead Hargis died quietly on June 18, 2008 in Salt Lake City after an extended illness that curtailed the activities he enjoyed with family and friends. A celebration of his vibrant life took place on  Saturday, August 16th, at 4 pm at Mono Lake County Park near Lee Vining, CA. The event was attended by 50 people, including Mead’s partner Connie Bullis, Mead’s daughter Heather with husband Paul and children; Mead’s daughter George, Mead’s sisters Helen Hargis and Mary Jean Taylor, and many people from Yosemite and Lee Vining.  Lynn MacMichael lead the service.


Christina Vojta (Tina Hargis) began with an overview of Mead’s life, describing how his talents grew over the years and how he wove his many talents together to achieve major accomplishments in natural resource protection.  Both of Mead’s daughters and Mead’s sister Helen came forward to share their memories of Mead.  These were followed by tributes from Fred Koegler, Bob Roney, Scott Stine, and Jim Sano.


Several people jotted down short memories and added them to a basket, and Lynn read each in turn.  Ryan Carle (mandolin) and Christina (guitar) played two songs from Mead’s favorite genre of music – bluegrass.  They adapted Hobo’s Lullaby to be Climber’s Lullaby, expressing the eternal peace that Mead found in the mountains. They ended with the one song that Mead told friends he could sing: Puff the Magic Dragon!  He said he sang it to make the hours go by on long, uncomfortable bivouacs.


At the end, Connie read the words written by Mead himself in 1998 about the scattering of his remains:


Please remember that I spent my whole life in a love affair with mountainous backcountry areas.  I find it very comforting to know that the atoms from my body are being recycled into trees, flowers, wildlife, and soil.  For those of you who want to come to a place to remember me, an alternative to a cemetery or a wooden box on a shelf, come back to where my remains were scattered and enjoy the birds singing, the wildflowers, the wind in the trees, the rock escarpments, and the beauty, with me.

 



 

click image for a larger view


After the service, everyone gathered together for a group photo. There are many more photos in the Memorial Service album, on the Gallery page.  The photo session was followed by wonderful hot dishes catered by Linda Dore of Lee Vining, and by salads and desserts provided by local residents and friends of Mead.  As the sun set, we were given a special treat as the full moon (colored golden by the smoke of a fire behind Tioga Lodge), rose up behind Mono Lake casting its gold reflection across the water.

Thanks to all who attended the service.  This website will be active indefinitely, so you can still post a memory or a photo. 


 




If you wish to make a donation in Mead's memory, we suggest one of the following:

Yosemite Association
PO Box 230 El Portal, CA 95318
(209) 379-2646

Recognizing Mead's love for botany, your contribution to YA will go toward the publication of Steve Botti's field version of his classic Yosemite Flora.

OR:
High Uintas Preservation Council
PO Box 72
Hyrum, UT 84319  (435) 245-6747

The High Uintas Preservation Council seeks solutions to land preservation issues, and Mead worked closely with this organization to ensure that the Forest Service lands where he worked were managed well.  The HUPC exemplifies the conservation values that he cherished.
 
OR:
Hospice for Utah
11639 South 700 East
Draper, UT 84020

Hospice for Utah donated time and superb care for Mead during his final months.

Thank you, and we look forward to hearing your Mead Hargis memories, either in person or on the website, or both!