Charlotte F. Belser ’79 MFS (1923 – 2025) passed away on May 15, 2025, at the age of 101. A bright and ambitious student, Charlotte graduated from high school at 16 and was among the first women to attend St. John’s University in Queens, where she double majored in biology and chemistry and played on the college basketball team. She worked as an analytical chemist in the food industry and served as a nutrition chemist at MIT.
Her focus at YSE was in the then-emerging field of urban planning, and she went on to be elected to the Planning and Zoning Commission of Westport, Connecticut. Charlotte was deeply involved in civic life, serving as president of the Westport League of Women Voters and as an active member of Democratic Women of Westport. She later moved to a farm in Guilford, Vermont, where she raised sheep and contributed to local planning, aging, and child care initiatives.
Alfred G. Darrach Jr. ’63 MF (1926 – 2025) passed away on December 28, 2025, in Gresham, Oregon at the age of 99. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Alfred dedicated his life to public service and the stewardship of America’s natural landscapes. He served as a U.S. Army sergeant from 1944 to 1946 and worked with the U.S. Geological Survey in 1954 before attending YSE. He joined the United States Forest Service, where he served for 27 years as a forester, range conservationist, and hydrologist, contributing to land, watershed, and resource planning. His Forest Service career included assignments in national forests, such as Clearwater, Umpqua, San Juan, and Medicine Bow, as well as roles in flood prevention and state and private area planning and development. Alfred retired in 1987 and was recognized for his technical expertise and leadership, including work on water pollution control practices for rural roads.
S. Gene Day ’66 MF (1934 – 2025) passed away on February 26, 2025, at the age of 90. Growing up across the mountain West as the son of a Montgomery Ward store manager, Gene developed a lifelong love of nature and the outdoors. Known for his adventurous spirit, he was the only man recorded to have led a team of husky sled dogs from West Yellowstone into Yellowstone Park to Old Faithful.
Gene earned a BA in forestry from the University of Idaho before attending YSE and went on to a distinguished career with the Bureau of Land Management, serving in Washington, D.C., Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and New Mexico. He also held leadership roles with the Public Lands Foundation, Idaho Rivers United, and The Nature Conservancy of Idaho.
Gene was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Charlene, celebrated 50 years of marriage last year.
David T. Harvey ’69 MFS (1941 – 2025) passed away peacefully at home on February 3, 2025, at the age of 83, surrounded by family. After earning his YSE degree, a milestone he regarded with pride, David served as a resident ecologist and land manager at The Sea Ranch in California, guiding the environmentally sensitive development of thousands of acres. He held diverse leadership roles across forestry, agriculture, and landscape management, including experimental agriculture, feed and nursery operations, and large-scale landscape projects in California and Nevada. David also contributed as a production manager and helped launch the company The North Face with his Stanford classmates.
Later, he founded Reno Green Landscaping, growing it into a thriving business over three decades. David remained engaged with professional forestry organizations and was deeply committed to stewardship, hard work, and the motto “Yes, you can.” He cherished his 51-year marriage to Judith Louise (Guisti) Harvey.
James F. Mackie ’77 MFS (1953 – 2025) passed away on December 2, 2025, at the age of 72 after a ten-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease. From his earliest days in Calgary, Alberta, Jamie found his joy outdoors. Starting as a teenager, he summited hundreds of peaks, including Mount Assiniboine and Mount Robson. He loved cross-country skiing and spent every winter weekend on the trails. In his last days he regaled and horrified his family with some of his most death-defying adventures: escaping avalanches, midnight blizzards, and near falls.
Jamie worked diligently at the businesses he founded and was a respected mentor to many. James and his wife, Brenda, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Mexico with their three children and nine grandchildren. Jamie died as he lived, with courage and clear conviction and surrounded by his family and close friends.
Jack A. Rose ’56 MF (1928 – 2024). Jack served in the U.S. Army with the 11th Airborne Division in occupied Japan, then went on to train as a smokejumper. He pursued his education under the G.I. Bill, earning a BA from the UC Berkeley School of Forestry and after attending YSE went on to UCLA Law School.
Jack began his legal career in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office before entering private practice, where he became known for a case against the American Motorcycle Association. After retiring in 1988, he divided his time between Sun Valley, Idaho, and California’s interior.
In 2000, Jack saw that the grave of his friend and fellow smokejumper David Navon, who survived combat with the 101st Airborne Division in Normandy and Bastogne only to perish in the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire, lacked an appropriate grave marker and worked to secure the placement of a white concrete Star of David in Navon’s memory.
Timothy F. Rozan ’94 MES, ’98 PhD (1964 – 2025) passed away unexpectedly at his home on February 9, 2025, at the age of 60. Born in New York, New York, Timothy was deeply committed to learning and service. He attended Johns Hopkins University and proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy from 1982 to 1988, including time aboard aircraft carriers and a nuclear submarine.
A passionate educator and mentor, Timothy co-founded the Ontario Hockey Academy and shared his knowledge through teaching roles at the University of Maine at Augusta and Bath Iron Works and within the Maine prison system. Above all else, Timothy cherished his children and his pets. He found joy in fishing, staying physically active, following current events, and cheering on sports. His curiosity, dedication, and love for family shaped the lives of all who knew him.
Cameron H. Sanders ’85 MES (1932 – 2025) passed away on November 4, 2025, at the age of 92. Cameron was a Foreign Service officer specializing in international conservation. Over an 18-year career, he served in Baghdad, Rotterdam, and Brussels with the U.S. delegation to NATO as well as at the State Department in Washington, D.C. After retiring from the Foreign Service, he went on to work for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, where he established and led its North American regional coordinating office.
Cameron also held leadership roles with the Archaeological Institute of America, the Washington National Cathedral, the Ocean Conservancy, and the New York City Ballet. He and his wife, Betsy, cherished summers on Cape Cod and shared a lifelong love of sailing, travel, fine food and wine, skiing, and reading.
Ragnhildur “Raga” Hemmert Sigurðardóttir ’95 MFS, ’00 PhD (1966 – 2025) passed away in Selfoss, southern Iceland, from a sudden heart attack on October 20, 2025, at the age of 59.
Raga earned her BS in ecology and biology from the University of Iceland before completing her MFS and PhD at Yale. She went on to become a leading expert in nature conservation in Iceland, working at the intersection of research, policy, management, and advocacy. Her career included roles at the Environmental Agency of Iceland, the Agricultural University of Iceland, and the University Centre of South Iceland as well as a visiting scholarship at the University of Washington. She also co-founded and managed the Audlind Nature Heritage Fund, focused on wetland protection and restoration.
A beloved classmate and friend, Raga is remembered for her boundless love of life, academic brilliance, a deep kindness and love for the people and nature on this planet, and constant readiness to pull over with no warning during berry season when driving by an enticing berry patch! Over the years, many dear YSE friends visited Raga and her family on the horse farm where she lived with her husband, Broie, and their daughter, Svava.
Carlton S. Yee ’65 MF (1941 – 2024) passed away on December 13, 2024, at the age of 83. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Carl earned a BS in forestry from Humboldt State University before attending the Yale School of the Environment and later completed a PhD at Oregon State University.
Carl devoted more than 30 years to teaching and research in forest operations and forest hydrology, including a long career as a professor at Humboldt State University. His impact extended well beyond academia. From 1983 to 1991, he served as chair and vice chair of the California State Board of Forestry and led the board’s forest practices committee. In this role, he helped guide negotiations with the State Water Resources Control Board, contributing to the development of best management practices certification for California’s Forest Practice Rules.
Throughout his life, Carl and his wife, Judi, shared a deep commitment to rescuing dogs.
