We are saddened to share the news of the passing of our friend Mary Catherine Linton (July 23, 1954 – June 13, 2021).
Mary was a wetland scientist, aquatic ecologist, educator, and published poet. She grew up on a farm near Midland, Michigan, loving science and literature. She graduated valedictorian of her class from Bullock Creek High School. Alzheimer’s disease took her too soon; she was spirited to the end near her family in Bay City, Michigan.
Mary obtained a Bachelor’s of Science at Michigan State University in 1975, a Masters in Biology at Michigan Technological University in 1982, and a Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky in 1995. She was an Assistant and then Associate Professor of Biology from 1989-2002 at Goshen College, Indiana, where she researched Ambystomatid (mole) salamanders at the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center at Goshen College. Linton was an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 2002-2007. In 2007, she became an ecological and wetland consultant as “Snapping Linton Ecology,” assisting with wetland projects in southern Wisconsin. She was a Certified Ecologist with the Ecological Society of America and a member of the Society of Wetland Scientists. Linton was a Board Member of the Wisconsin Wetlands Association from 2005-2012. She served as Board Chair from 2008-2012, leading the state-wide wetland organization during a pivotal transition to wider membership and influence.
Linton specialized in the life history and biology of salamanders and the ecology of ephemeral ponds—an overlooked but biologically rich wetland type important to the life cycles of amphibians. She surveyed Blanding’s turtles (a Wisconsin special concern species) in Middleton’s Pheasant Branch Conservancy and in Delevan, WI. As an educator, she inspired young people to explore wetland ecology and the interrelationships of ephemeral ponds, salamanders, frogs, turtles, and woodlands. She gave engaging, lively workshops and talks about the ecology of and need to protect wetlands. From salamanders to dragonflies, her interests were as rich as the landscapes she studied.
Her work as a poet included hundreds of poems, some of which published in Aelthlon, Friends Journal, Hummingbird, Seeding the Snow, and Verse Wisconsin. Using nature and wetlands in her poetry, she spoke to our connections to the natural world and often used humor to engage the reader. She taught poetry workshops outdoors, bringing people into the habitats that affirmed her. She inaugurated a wetland poetry session at the Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s annual science conference, a session that is now named the Mary Linton Wetland Poetry Session in her honor. Her poetry will be permanently housed at the Hoard Historical Museum in Fort Atkinson.
Mary and her wife, Kathy Kauffman, were married on June 12, 2014, and resided in Fort Atkinson, WI, from 2002 to 2020, where they were active in the community.
In Fort Atkinson, Mary was active in Heart of the City and was a featured scientist for the Fort Atkinson Science Fair. Many will remember her pithy presentation on frogs. Mary’s expertise regarding amphibians contributed greatly over the years to the Friends of Rose Lake. She attended Quaker Friends Meeting in Fort Atkinson. When Mary traveled, she sent postcards with poems or quips from wherever she was.
Mary withdrew from her life of science and poetry as she suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Her legacy includes her love of science and poetry, curiosity, quick wit, and generous smile.
She is predeceased by her parents, Phyllis, nee Snyder, and William Harold Linton. She is survived by her wife, Kathy Kauffman, her sister Barbara, brothers William (Judy) and Robert (Patricia) Linton, and 68 nieces and nephews, including special nieces Greta Kauffman and Kara Kauffman.
“I Am
daughter of Phyllis
of wood thrush, daughter of Bessie
of bulrush of bluest dragonfly of Edith
of dolomite of dust”
Mary Linton, February 2011
A service is planned for July 23, 1:00 p.m. at the Midland Township Hall on Poseyville Road in Midland, Michigan. Her family fittingly selected this date, her birthday, to celebrate her life and legacy.
A Mary Linton Celebration of Life and Poetry will be held at the Dorothy Carnes Park Pavilion, West side, in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin on Sunday, September 26, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.
Memorials may be sent to Wisconsin Wetlands Association, 214 N Hamilton St #201, Madison, WI 53703, or Friends of Rose Lake, Fort Atkinson, 428 Sherman Avenue, Fort Atkinson, WI.
We invite you to share a memory of Mary in the comments below. (Comments are moderated to prevent spam, so your comment may not show up right away.)
Related content
Wetland Warrior: A tribute to Mary Linton
Poems for friends by Mary Linton
We invite you to share a memory of Mary in the comments below. (Comments are moderated to prevent spam, so your comment may not show up right away.)
I am honored to have been WWA’s Executive Director while Mary was on the board and at the helm. She was a true friend and confidante, had a sharp, quick wit, and could carry on a lively conversation about everything from poetry to women’s issues to salamander biology. When her face lit up with a smile and her blue eyes twinkled, she radiated beauty inside and out. I will miss her dearly and will never forget her.
Mary was my advisor and my mentor at UW-Whitewater—the reason I pursued an ecology degree. I enjoyed the time doing salamander surveys at Mallard Ridge and turtle work at Pheasant Branch Conservancy with Mary, experiences that quickly took on the title ‘Linton’s butt-kicking boot camp’. Try slogging across a marsh in chest waders that don’t fit when it’s 90 degrees in the shade! She was my go-to for a quick ID on any Carex. The wealth of knowledge and endless enthusiasm she possessed for our wetlands will be missed.
Mary had this unique ability to combine a passion for aquatic environments and all their creatures with a passion for wetland protection and a passion for poetry. From caddis flies, dragonflies, and salamanders to Ramsar wetlands to wetland poetry workshops: Mary taught us, led us, and challenged us with quick wit and a brilliant smile. I can see her explaining how the energy and nutrients of an ephemeral pond crawl out to dry land as a salamander, lending nutrients to trillium that are eaten by a white-tailed deer. Pure Mary was rich in laughter, high in intelligence, deep in friendship.
I first met Mary when WWA flew me out to Madison to interview for the ED position 10 years ago. Spending time with Mary before and after the interview played a big factor in my decision to take the job. She was an amazing woman. Her WWA newsletter article on leeches is still one of my favorites. She will remain in my memories and in my heart.
Mary was such an inspiration. While she excelled in helping others understand the wetland community, her true talent was to foster wetland love through the power of awe, humor, and words. Whenever I think of Mary, I think of salamander love, ephemeral ponds, smiles, and generosity that never quits!
Mary was an epic poem: part swashbuckling salamander wrangler/Blanding’s monitor, part committed educator and wetland defender, part poet in waders. She tied it all together with that wonderful laugh of hers. I will miss her.
What I recall most vividly–Mary’s smile, her wit, her ability to see humor in the most and difficult situations. I had the honor of serving on WWA Board and meeting Mary at both Madison meetings and out on wetland field trips. Thank you for your heartfelt and honest poetry, Mary.
I became a more vocal advocate for Wisconsin Wetlands because of Mary. She was an advocate for all creatures especially those living in wetlands. Her poetry made me feel the beauty, mystery and magic of these creatures and the place where they lived. Her poetry draws us to our shared human experiences. She introduced me to Terry Tempest Williams, Jane Kenyon and more appreciative of Mary Oliver. She was forever generating quotable comments that quickly put a conversation in context of the larger world, often with humor. My heart hurts.
Mary was a leader, a friend, and an inspiration. She shepherded WWA through an Executive Director change and somehow made that both comfortable and expansive for staff. She listened well. She aways saw and shared the humor and brought out the bawdy laughs we didn’t know were inside us. Mary was also a private person. Over the years, I learned more of her through friends or observation. I’ve come to understand that at the same time she served nature and community so generously, she was navigating immensely personal and tender concerns. I remain in awe of how she stayed present to all the things and people she loved.