Natalie Phillips

Natalie you are missed so much by so many. Our hearts ache for those late night calls filled with empathy and wisdom. You were one in a billion.

My daughter, Natalie, (whom I named after Natalie Phillips in 1994, when we lived in Valdez, AK, and were reading Natalie's many articles in the Anchorage Daily News) and I have dedicated a lovely engraved commemorative brick in the Centennial garden at Chautaucqua, in Boulder, CO, where Natalie and Dash lived for a year, when Natalie was at CU for her journalism fellowship. The brick will be engraved next March and placed in the garden sometime late spring, early summer. Please visit this...

During 30+ years of teaching, there are certain students/friends that stand out in my memory. Natalie was in the Wilderness and Civilization program at the U. of Montana and was a quiet, thoughtful, charming leader. Paraphrasing another student, "She was tough as nails, and twice as sweet." We were all richer knowing her.

Natalie, the dust is settling and I am finally allowing myself to miss you. We were relatively new to your circle of friends. We met when our sons were crawling, in diapers, and shared so many "double dates" with our beautiful sons from camping to roller skating. Those late night discussions about schools, and lost teeth, and funny things they said to us that day are still so cherished. We will think of you endlessly when we see Dash on his 8th birthday soon.

I met Natalie when I was working for the Exxon Valdez Trustee Council and she was assigned to write about the trustees and the spill for the ADN. She was a sponge. She got up to speed remarkably fast on everything she needed to know in order to write clear, informative stories about a convoluted and often contentious issue.

We became friends. When she was going to Africa I gave her a $20 bill and asked her to bring something back for me. She asked, “What kind of thing do you want?” I...

though i hadnt heard from her in years i always cherished the memories we had together. like the treehouse along the bitterroot river in missoula. and our marathon bike tour from missoula, down the rockies, and across to Dullass Texas in 32 days @ 82 miles/day average. ill miss ya Natalie!

Ah, Natalie. You were always so strong, and just a little bit ahead of us - in college in Missoula, keeping us out of trouble in Mexico, going for it career-wise, dealing with the big problems - strong on mountains, strong in adversity. Rest now.

I first met Natalie when she began taking first year Spanish in my class and later she signed up for my first trip to Mexico. She was a delight because she appreciated everything about the Mexican culture. She & her friends on the trip even surprised me with a gift of an armadillo on my bed. (I still have him) I also coached her on the volleyball team. Not only was she a good athlete, but also she was a natural leader. Through the years, she always kept in touch, and I would live vicariously...

Natalie was such a blazing bright light here at the Center for Environmental Journalism, where she participated in our Ted Scripps fellowship program. As a journalist, she was among the best. And I have never met a more devoted, patient and loving mom. Somehow she managed to juggle the demands of both journalism and parenthood with inspiring grace. Such a beautiful soul. I know I speak for everyone here at the CEJ in saying that she will be sorely missed.