PVAS lost a dear friend on December 8th, 2025. PVAS Founder, Jean Neely, died at age 94.

I first met Jean 25 years ago when I moved to the area (without a job) and heard about this local Audubon Chapter that had adopted the care of a nature preserve and might be interested in
doing some education programs there someday. After meeting “The Yankauer Committee” for the first time, I was summoned to Jean’s home to talk more with some of the key stakeholders. By the end of the conversation, we had a three-month plan for me to do a Community Needs Assessment to gauge interest in providing youth programs at the Yankauer Preserve. In her typical “Jean way,” she jumped into action. She asked PVAS members to donate to fund PVAS’s first employee. She introduced me around to anyone and everyone she knew who might like to be involved and support the efforts to create educational programs using Yankauer as an outdoor classroom. She mentored me in many ways, everything from grant writing to fundraising to public speaking. (I remember her telling me to stop using my hands so much when I spoke for fear I’d “take off.”) I learned so much from her, both personally and professionally. She became a dear friend.

At a recent visit, we reminisced about some of the things she had done in “retirement.” She helped found so many wonderful local organizations in addition to PVAS, including Friends of the Shepherdstown Library, Land Trust of the Eastern Panhandle, Friends of NCTC, Jefferson County League of Women Voters, and Shepherdstown Area Independent Living. Through PVAS, she helped protect Canaan Valley with the establishment of the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, helped reintroduce osprey to the state in partnership with the DNR, made Yankauer more accessible by funding and building a parking lot there, and found funding for the pavilion at Yankauer. This list goes on. I commented on how much she had contributed to the local community and environmental causes in the state. In quintessential Jean fashion, she reprimanded me: “It wasn’t ME, Kristin. It was a group effort!” Jean was humble until the end. It was always “we” – rarely “I.” When planning for the 40th anniversary of PVAS in 2022, she helped me document the various accomplishments of the chapter. She never allowed the founding of PVAS to be attributed to just her. “I was A founder. Not THE founder.” She finally let us establish PVAS’s Founders Day on her birthday, July 10th, but not without argument. She also let us name the pavilion at Yankauer after her. (But only after I wouldn’t let her name the Yankauer parking lot or bathroom after her!) While I urged her not to shortchange herself, and that she should take SOME credit for the many accomplishments that happened thanks to her leadership, her point was well-taken. Nothing is accomplished alone. And it occurs to me that this has been a tradition within PVAS, perhaps because of Jean’s leadership.

The truth is that the volunteers within this organization are extraordinary. There is a camaraderie that brings people together  o do great things. Maybe it’s the common cause, or the nature of nature: all elements must work together so an ecosystem can work. Whatever it may be, we have always been, and will continue to be, an organization of “we.” “We” rely on volunteers, “we” rely on members, “we” rely on donors, “we” rely on a collaborative and functional board and staff. Like diversity in nature, the diversity of our members, donors, and friends makes us stronger, bringing our various strengths and skills to the table. We’re a complex puzzle, but one that fits together to create a thing of productive beauty. “We” will continue to honor Jean’s legacy as “we” continue to accomplish great things in the future. But we’ll always be grateful to Jean specifically for her inspiration and leadership to get PVAS off the ground – with lots of help from others.

To learn more about Jean’s impressive life and to see her full obituary, go to https://www.brownfuneralhomeswv.com/memorials/jean-neely/5665898

-Kristin Alexander, Executive Director