Donor Stories

Learn how others have made an impact through their acts of giving to our organization and others.

Kathy moved from Iowa in August 2016 to be closer to her daughters in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to her move out here she had visited...
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Mark and Claudia Sanzone

Mark and Claudia Sanzone have shared many special moments in the Gorge, but some of their fondest memories lie with the kids from...
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Jamie Shull

Jamie Shull, came to Friends from California and still distinctly remembers her first encounter with this iconic place she had never heard of...
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Nancy and Ron Gronowski

When Nancy and Ron Gronowski first moved to Oregon from Ohio in 1979, they were amazed by the incredible beauty and one of a kind resource...
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Michele Wier

Michele moved to Portland from the Midwest in 2007 and experienced the Gorge for the first time. Her very first hike was to Angel's Rest back...
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Bob Hogfoss

Bob Hogfoss has a long history of loving the Columbia Gorge. One of his earliest memories is of Celilo Falls, when he was just 5 years old.
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Rick Ray and Anne Phillipsborn

When Rick Ray first became a Friends member in 1982, he could never have imagined that it was just the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.
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Susan Brickey: Leaving a Legacy and Living it Now

After the initial excitement of retirement wears off, it's common for people to feel a sense of loss. Many new retirees, especially those coming out of big careers, struggle with an unsettling feeling of disconnect and a lack of purpose.
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Robert and Normandie Holmes

When the Holmes decided they wanted to make a legacy gift to Friends, they didn't deliberate quickly. It came as a part of a process whereby they wanted to find an organization...
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Ed Cleary

Ed Cleary agrees with all of us that not being able to be in the Gorge is really hard. Staying home and staying safe is nowhere near as much fun as being out in the Gorge capturing photos of...
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Linda Besant and Martha Goetsch

A shared love of the Columbia Gorge is one of many things that unite Linda Besant and Martha Goetsch.
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Norman Yeon’s Bequest Transforms Friends of the Columbia Gorge

For Norman Yeon, the Columbia Gorge was imbedded deep into his DNA. His father, John Baptiste Yeon, was successful business man...
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Nancy Russell’s Bequest Funds Future Land Purchases

As the founder of Friend of the Columbia Gorge and the person most responsible for the creation of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area...
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Russ Jolley's Bequest Helps Educate the Public

Like Nancy Russell, Russ adopted a near lifetime devotion to the Columbia Gorge and when a newspaper reporter once asked Russ...
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Nick and Kay Dodge's Bequest is Helping Gorge Towns to Trails

Nick and Kay were longtime members of Friends of the Columbia Gorge and avid outdoor enthusiasts.
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Tom Holman’s Bequest Ensures the Future of Friends

Tom lived nearly a century (99 years) as an Oregonian through and through. His father was one of the founders of the Mazamas climbing organization...
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Ed Caswell’s Bequest Strengthens Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust

Ed was the owner of a travel agency and during his adventurous lifetime he explored beautiful places in every corner of the world.
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Ruth Allen's Bequest Helps Friends Grow

Prior to her death, no one at Friends of the Columbia Gorge knew Ruth Allen, but her bequest left a signature, indelible mark on the organization.
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A Unique and Extensive Understanding of the Columbia Gorge

Bob Hogfoss has a long history of loving the Columbia Gorge. One of his earliest memories is of Celilo Falls, when he was just 5 years...
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Talented photographer makes her mark on the Gorge

When Colleen Wright won the grand prize in Friends' 2018 photo contest, what seemed to set her apart from previous contest winners was the fact that she...
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Creating a Legacy

Lydie Boyer, a Gorge resident and longtime supporter of Friends shared with us why she loves the Gorge and why she felt compelled to name Friends in her...
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Honoring the Gorge and a Family Legacy

When Mary Dickson started a charitable gift annuity with Friends, she was drawn in large part to the practical benefits - easy to set up, tax benefits...
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Preserving the Gorge while looking to the Long-term

Peter Frothingham and his wife ElVida Walrod, have made their "little bit of heaven" in Odell, OR their base for giving back to the community they...
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Margie Kircher

In 2014 Margie Kircher received a letter saying there would be large-scale fracking on the farm her family had owned for three generations. "At first I actually...
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David Pollock

David Pollock's love for the Gorge seems almost inevitable. His godfather Aubrey Watzek was close friends with Portland architect and Gorge conservationist...
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Mel Hinton

Mel Hinton's reverence for the outdoors comes from a unique perspective. After graduating from Oregon State University, Mel became a Navy pilot then, after...
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Katie Barker

Elizabeth "Katie" Barker's family has deep ties to the Columbia Gorge's agricultural and industrial history. Her great grandfather started a paper mill in Camas...
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From the Water

Many people first fall in love with the Columbia Gorge when they're on a trail. For Si Simonson, it happened on the water.
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Wildflowers and the Gorge!

Kathleen McHarg has almost as many passions as there are wildflowers in the Gorge.
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Loving the Gorge!

After living and working abroad for 35 years, Carole Beauclerk always assumed she would move to Thailand when she retired.
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Jewels of the Gorge!

Linda Felver's happiest times have always been in the outdoors. From a young age, she had a great love of the natural world, cultivated by her parents who were both birders.
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Linking the Gorge's Past and Future

"The warm summer days and nights. The beauty of the soft colors of the dry lands, and sage-scented breezes..." Even fifty years later, Bill Pressly remembers what first drew him to the Gorge. Bill and his wife, Carole Douglass, each have a long history of loving the Columbia Gorge.
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Making Her Mark on the Gorge

When Karey Reid moved to the Pacific Northwest ten years ago, she quickly realized that she was living near one of the unheralded wonders of the world - the Columbia River Gorge.
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Alicia Munoz

About 20 years ago, Alicia moved to East Vancouver and started hiking in 2006. Beacon Rock and Cape Horn became her favorites.
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Mike Hendricks and Leanne Hogie

Twenty-five years ago, when Mike Hendricks and Leanne Hogie lived in Portland for two years, they discovered the Gorge.
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