Susan Nelson-Jones | Feb. 6, 1933–Dec. 20, 2018

by Keith Mischke

Mazama Susan Jones-Nelson passed away Dec. 20, 2018 at the age of eighty-five. She was born on February 6, 1933, in Vancouver, Washington and passed away in Bend, Oregon after a short illness. Her 85 years was a life lived to the fullest! A defining event in her life occurred as a teenager when she was selected as a counselor at Camp Tamarack in the central Oregon Cascades. Being a city girl this was her first real exposure to the out-of-doors. She was immediately taken in by the beauty of the forests, mountains, and rivers. The rest of her life reflected this love.
Susan had four daughters: Shannon, Heather, Kelly, and Erin, in which she instilled the love of the beauty of nature. Susan was a teacher in the Portland area schools. She was a talented artist specializing in pottery, quilting, beading, and painting. Susan was an avid reader enjoying many subjects.

Susan joined the Mazamas in 1976 after climbing Mount St. Helens. With the Mazamas she served on the Banquet, Nordic Skiing, Whitewater and Outing committees and was elected to the Executive Council in 1984. She taught climbing, nordic skiing, and whitewater rafting. She was selected to be a climb leader when there were not many women leading climbs. She led many new members on their official membership climb. It was during this time that she met Mazama Lon Nelson. They were married on June 18, 1988.

After her climbing career was over she and Lon enjoyed traveling in the Southwest in their RV, taking cruises around the world, and admiring the views from their home on the Deschutes River. Her many Mazama friend’s lives were enriched by knowing this very capable lady.

Dr. Edward "Ed" McAninch | Nov. 9, 1925–Dec. 27, 2018

Ed McAninch, Dick Miller, and Jack Grauer at the
May 2018 Mazama Annual Celebration.

Longtime Mazama Dr. Edward “Ed” McAninch passed away on December 27, 2018. He was 93 years old. Known as an enthusiastic outdoorsman, Ed joined the Mazamas in 1966. Besides climbing, Ed hiked with the Osprey’s and was active with Boy Scout Troop 312. Fellow Mazama Ray Sheldon remembers meeting Ed on a climb of North and Middle Sister in the late 1960s. During the climb, a fellow mountaineer fell and broke his pelvis. Ed, a trained medical doctor, stayed with the man during the descent, providing care and camaraderie to a fellow climber. Ed earned his Guardian Peak award in 1966, his Seven Oregon Peaks award in 1970, and his 16 Northwest Peaks award in 1978. Ed and his wife of 66 years, Eddie, traveled the world extensively, with Ed’s adventures taking him to all seven continents over the course of his lifetime. In 1976 Ed stepped up to help lead a Mazama Outing to the Swiss Alps after the unexpected death of the outing leader in a car crash. Working with a foreign exchange student he knew, Ed was able to make the necessary arrangements and communicate with both the Swiss and the French.

Ed, undated.

Ed served on the Climbing Committee between 1971–1974. In the early 1980s, Ed helped revive the mountain rescue group that eventually became known as Portland Mountain Rescue. Ed was very proud to have helped save volunteer-based mountain rescue on Mount Hood. He served on the Mazama Executive Council between 1983 to 1985, serving as secretary in 1985. Ed was a staunch defender of the environment and participated actively in political demonstrations. While on the council, he helped facilitate the Ellis Trust. The trust awarded twelve thousand dollars that year to protect areas on the Sandy and Deschutes Rivers as well as buy the tract of land to preserve the Pillars of Hercules in the Columbia River Gorge. In 1988 he served as chair of the Bylaws Committee and was a member of the Nordic Committee. Ed remained active in the Mazamas, attending many Classic events and luncheons in recent years. In keeping with his love of the outdoors in general and the Pacific Northwest in particular, his family will host an outdoor celebration of life in the spring of 2019.