Winter 2008
Issue

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Mary Beth Doyle
1961-2004

MB: Condolences

February/March Issue, 2006

Note: The Ecology Center wishes to acknowledge and thank everyone for their heartfelt and thoughtful emails, faxes, and phone messages.

This past summer at the Dow Chemical shareholders meeting, Mary Beth and I were on the grassy knoll (that’s where Dow and Midland PD confine the opposition) as Rashida and Champa from Bhopal, India, took up their perennial spots of protest. Mary Beth and I marveled at the courage and strength of these two women. Little did Mary Beth know I viewed her through the same courageous lens.

Let’s all rejoice in her life, her lessons ... a noble woman indeed!

Michelle Hurd Riddick
Lone Tree Council (Saginaw, Michigan)

When I heard about Mary Beth’s sudden death, I remembered again how precious good friends and good comrades are. We can make all the plans in the world. But then life has a way of showing up unexpectedly. It is good to remember the people we love and honor ... and tell them so.

If each life is a flower, then Mary Beth was a flaming scarlet zinnia, bright and vibrant and loudly displaying the beauty of life. We will sorely miss her.

Gary Cohen

I just can’t believe it!

At clean air rally in Detroit

Mary Beth was very active in the fight against out-of-state trash and for better waste management and recycling in Michigan. As many of you recall, Elvis played a big part in the campaign against Toronto trash. Mary Beth conceived of the idea and also rewrote the words to the Elvis hit, “Return to Sender” [see page 7]. She made working on the issue of garbage fun! Also she contributed her creativity, her intelligence, and her energy to the issue completely behind the scenes. A lot of people have worked on this issue over the years, but Mary Beth was a key to the success that has taken place and you never saw her needing or asking for any of the credit.

Mary Beth Doyle was the voice of the Ecology Center. Anyone who has called the Ecology Center over the years has heard her voice on the voicemail. I’m hoping that we’ll still at least hear that voice for a long time to come.

I’ll miss you very much Mary Beth.

Jeff Surfus
NO WASTE

All I can say is that if they have any vinyl siding in Heaven, God had better remove it quickly – because Mary Beth is coming and she’s gonna’ be mad!

We miss you so much, Mary Beth Doyle!

Stephanie “Stacie” Trescott
Founder/Cacophonist, Jam Rag/Green House

I didn’t know Mary Beth personally, but my one encounter with her madea lasting impression. I feel very saddened by this news.

Back in January, maybe it was ‘02, I attended a symposium offered by the U-M school of Public Health that focused on genetically engineered foods. U-M was erecting their new biotechnology building and the panel of presenters was loaded with pro-biotech heavyweights. There wasn’t a single voice in the speaker lineup to truly represent the opposing point of view. For the feigned attempt, Peter Sandman, the risk management guru was there with all his “impartiality” saying that the risk of problems with GE foods was real and that Biotech had gone about flooding the market with GE products in a rather stupid way leaving lots of room for outrage from the public, but with some improvement to their PR they could dampen the potential backlash.

The bulk of the participants in the audience were students. The morning session trudged forward with all the hoopla of a cheerleading squad. I say “trudged” because those of us in the audience who could vocalize the opposition were not given the opportunity to speak. Lunch came and went and the auditorium predictably began to slowly empty as many of the students left having put in an appearance and probably having many other things to do. Finally, finally the panel of speakers assembled themselves on stage to take questions and give their predictable answers. The questions from the remaining students reflected the effects of listening to the speakers all morning. This is great stuff, this genetic engineering of foods! The activists in the audience were feeling all kinds of outrage!

Then Mary Beth stood up. She briefly addressed some of what the panelists had been saying, quite graciously, while publicly noting that there were no voices for the opposition on the panel. Then she turned away from the stage and with mike in hand began to address the students. She was so eloquent, so smart, and so empathetic as to how this may impact them personally. She spoke directly to the issue without flinching, without disrespect for the speakers, but with a solid and convincing slam-dunk argument that for anyone listening would have brought about either significant doubt about the veracity of the earlier messages or the outrage that Sandman had warned of earlier.

I was new to activism that day. Mary Beth showed me what kind of activist I want to be. It’s a nice goal to keep stretching toward.

I just wish that I could have seen her do that again.

Claire O’Leary
Sierra Club, MOFFA

Mary Beth and I planned a Detroit Piston game poster-protest against Toronto trash when the Toronto team came to town a few years ago. We had such fun even though they made us take our signs back out to the car.

There weren’t that many people obviously involved in the fight early on. Mary Beth’s persistence has paid off, hasn’t it?

She was one of my favorite people ever. We will need to work very hard to replace her energy, but we will never replace her total package!

Jerry Renning
MCATS Chair

My dearest friends, I’m sitting here at my desk barely able to see my computer through my tears. I’m so profoundly shocked and grief stricken by this terrible news.

What a terrible loss for the world. My heart goes out to all of us who loved MB. She will be missed more than any of us will know.

Bryony Schwan

You know that dance step she did?
The one that was half Charleston, half tribal ritual?
I loved it when Mary Beth did that.
Totally original, too well done to be dismissed
I can’t believe she’s gone.

Charlotte Brody
Health Care Without Harm

Devastated I am,
by the loss of Mary Beth.

Yet I see her,
laughing,
dancing,
singing,
long into the night.

Yet I hear her,
let’s cut the shit,
don’t be so sentimental,
just do the work.

Yet I embrace her,
sassiness,
irreverence,
hopes springing high.

So I continue,
with her by my side.

Mark Rossi

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