Former president of Yosemite Foundation died in a car accident
near the park
Gilroy – Although he could have easily done so, Steven Medley didn’t flaunt his intelligence.
Except, of course, when The New York Times crosswords were concerned. In that case, he would finish up the puzzle, set the paper on the table, and brag about the handiwork he’d managed to accomplish in just 25 minutes.
“He was so smart, but he didn’t stick it in your face,” said Jane Medley, his wife of 30 years. “It was just obvious by what he could accomplish that he was in another league.”
But Steve Medley’s life – a life he had already filled with a myriad of successes – was cut short Thursday when his car veered off Highway 140 while driving to his office in Yosemite National Park. The accident is still under investigation, but poor road conditions due to recent rains may have been a contributing factor.
The 57-year-old spent the past 21 years as president of the Yosemite Association. During his long tenure with the association, Medley managed to transform it from a little-known organization into an 11,000-member nonprofit.
When the Yosemite Association was founded in 1923 it was the sole nonprofit associated with a national park. Today, every park across the nation has one attached to it, said Beth Pratt, YA vice president.
The group provides financial, personnel and educational support. Medley poured his heart and soul into the organization and left behind a legacy that will never be duplicated, said friends and family.
“He was the Yosemite Association,” Pratt said. “It’s almost impossible for me to separate him from the organization. I know we’ll go on, but it won’t be the same. It will be a different era.”
Medley was born in Palo Alto in 1949 and moved to Gilroy as a young child. Although he left the area for college after graduating from Gilroy High School in 1967, he never let go of his childhood home.
“Steve absolutely loved his roots from Gilroy and he was so proud of his Gilroy postcard collection,” Jane Medley said.
Ah. The Gilroy postcard collection.
Jane Medley and the couple’s three sons, Charlie, Joe and Andy, knew better than to mention the collection to guests. If they did, Steve Medley’s ears perked up and out came the stack of cards.
Before the Internet gave birth to eBay, the father of three would pester friends to buy him the memorabilia on their way through town. And once the online auction site emerged, Steve Medley, who used the eBay name “the Prince of Gilroy,” was hooked.
He managed to collect at least 150.
“He did love Gilroy and he loved talking about it,” Jane Medley said.
His mother and father, Hermie and Robert Medley were longtime Gilroy residents. Robert Medley, who died in a plane crash at the age of 56, was a principal at local elementary schools.
Steve Medley, described by friends and family as a sensitive and kind man who always interjected humor into every situation, could have taken a variety of paths in his life that may have led to more money but the naturalist decided to stick to what he loved best: nature.
He received a bachelor’s from Stanford University, a master’s from the University of Oregon and a law degree from the Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Law at the University of California, Davis.
He spent some time as a lawyer in private practice before joining the Yosemite Association. While working at the nonprofit, Steve Medley put his many talents to use, raising money for the park, overseeing employees and educational services and editing and publishing more than 50 books.
His book, “The Complete Guide to Yosemite,” sold more than 100,000 copies. He also wrote a children’s book called “Antelope, Bison, Cougar: A National Park Wildlife Alphabet Book,” about 26 different animals from 26 different national parks.
One project he was extremely proud of was a publication that spanned nearly his entire career. The book was filled with illustrations of every flowering plant, tree and shrub that grows in the national park and it took Steve Medley 20 years to complete, Pratt said.
Like those illustrations that he so painstakingly edited, those who knew Steve Medley were able to paint a clear and accurate picture of the naturalist, author, father and husband.
The words of at least a hundred individuals who knew the man, some extremely well, others not so well, flocked to the Yosemite Association Web site to write about the encounters they’d had with Steve Medley. Many mentioned his humor, the jokes he would tell at the annual members meeting.
And many spoke of his thoughtfulness, including two women who still remember the kind words of condolence he sent their way when a loved one died.
“What comes to mind the most these past few days though is the incredibly kind note he sent me when my father died; it was utterly unique, caring beyond measure and somehow exactly what I needed to read without realizing I needed it,” said Laurel Rematore, a Yosemite Association employee.
Ethan Stocks wasn’t surprised at the outpouring of love for his uncle. The Gilroy High School teacher said Steve Medley knew everybody.
“You could just kind of strike up a conversation with him and talk about anything,” Stocks said. “He was very good at giving advice and he was always willing to give you his opinion, whether it was solicited or not.”
Jane Medley agreed, saying her husband “really had a gift for words.” The two met in 1971 when they were both working as park rangers in Yosemite.
He was an amazing father and husband and such a “huge part of my life I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself,” she said.
Steve Medley is survived by his wife, Jane, sons, Charlie, Joe and Andy, mother, Hermie Medley, sister, Robin Medley, niece, Megan Tresham and nephew Ethan Stocks. He was preceded in death by his brother Peter Medley and father, Robert Medley.
