Stuart Pendleton Finley

My family and I were so fortunate to have had Stu Finley in our lives for almost 50 years. And, we were incredibly honored by his presence at a gathering we gave just days before he had his last surgery. As I had known and looked up to him from the age of seven, I called him "Mr. Finley," and he looked, sounded and seemed his usual natty and debonair self on that day we last saw him, only a few weeks ago.

He was the first person I ever knew (and I suspect the first person many of us ever knew) who was concerned about what went into our rivers and lakes--I learned what environmental awareness was from his writings and from his tireless enthusiasm and volunteerism. Beyond the environmental volunteerism, however, I remember how comforting his rich, full, calm voice was to hear on the radio, especially to children during an era when air raid sirens and drills were commonplace.

Mr. Finley was the MC of many a Bailey's Elementary fall school fair--I particularly seem to associate him with the cakewalk--leading the way for other Dads to volunteer.

He was also always there, volunteering at the beach on Memorial Day and Labor Day, making sure that the neighborhood kids from Lake Barcroft had a day to remember.

He wrote the Lake Barcroft newsletter practically singlehandedly, for many years, and always with a wry sense of fun. My father, Jack Nerenberg, was declared by Mr. Finley to be Lake Barcroft's offical photographer, and Mr. Finley took the time and trouble to collect some of Dad's work from his own newsletter files to give to my brother (who was only seven when Dad died), when Mr. Finley saw Larry a couple of years ago. That's the kind of guy he was.

Over and over, I have heard people say they can't imagine Lake Barcroft without Stuart Finley.

Personally, I don't think that's necessary--I prefer to think his spirit remains with us as an example of what Native Americans would have referred to as the "Spirit of the Lake." We'll miss him, yes, but we see and feel his handiwork and his inspiration every time we cross the Potomac River and every time we look at Lake Barcroft. I hope Margaret and Bobby and Frank feel the comfort of being surrounded by his love and his spirit. They all worked very hard, albeit often behind the scenes, to achieve the family goal of increasing public environmental awareness, and I know that this was only one of the many reasons Stuart was so proud of them.

It remains an honor and an inspiration to have known you, sir.

Stu Finley was a colleague and friend of mine during my years as a documentary writer-producer at WRC-TV, Washington, DC, in the 1960s and 70s. His documentary series, "Our Beautiful Potomac," was instrumental in initiating the multi-year cleanup of the otherwise beautiful waterway that flows by our capital city. It is an enduring legacy that Stu had the foresight to create.

Stuart was a loyal conservationist who in his lifetime did make a difference. His work in creating the Lake Barcroft Watershed Improvement District, the first ever project of this sort in Virginia, was remarkable. He worked tirelessly to promote conservation of our natural resources and the need for good watershed planning. He will be missed greatly by the entire conservation community. He was an icon in his own right.