Bethine Church Awards Honors Two Incredible Stanley Women
The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is a special place. There aren’t many other spots where going on a run or a bike ride may mean cruising through an elk-filled meadow, beside a salmon filled stream, beneath snow-filled peaks. There aren’t many places where one can do all of this without seeing another soul. Thus, the Sawtooth National Recreation Area attracts a special type of person. Someone so dedicated to stunning natural beauty that they yearn to nestle into the very heart of it and be there. Content. These people enrich the area even more because they love the area fiercely. Occasionally, the Sawtooth Society chooses one or two of these people to honor for their fierce love. On Oct. 17, 2013 the Sawtooth Society did just that by presenting the Bethine Church Award to two extraordinary women at the High Country Inn in Stanley. This prestigious award is given periodically to worthy men and women who have worked hard to make the area better. This year, Marie Osborn and the late Marilyn Marquis were given the award.
Marie Osborn was honored with the Bethine Church award for the public sector. It is thanks to Osborn that the SNRA is equipped with the skills and facilities to provide health care to the community and its visitors. Osborn began visiting the Stanley basin in the early 1960’s. With a professional background in nursing, Osborn noticed immediately that there were no medical facilities or emergency medical equipment in Stanley. She spent the next 12 years working to change that and in 1972, Osborn succeeded in opening the Stanley medical clinic. Osborn was not only the catalyst behind the clinic, she also worked there as the nurse practitioner for the next 27 years. Through this time, Osborn continued to expand medical education throughout the valley. She trained locals in emergency medical care and helped establish a women’s health center. Though Osborn retired from the Stanley clinic in 1999, she is still a valued member of the Stanley community.
Marilyn Marquis received the Bethine Church award for the private sector. Marquis, who had a PhD in chemistry from the University of Utah, spent most of her professional life working in labs as a physical chemist. But her personal life was spent in the Sawtooth valley where she loved backpacking, hiking, and searching for wildflowers. Upon retirement, Marquis dedicated all parts of her life to the Sawtooth Valley. She was an active member of the Sawtooth Mountain Mamas and on the board of directors of the Sawtooth Interpretive and Historic Association (SIHA). Marquis’ most recent project with SIHA was the restoration of the historical Shaw Cabin. The Shaw Cabin was built and lived in by the second family to homestead in the Sawtooth Valley. Marquis’s work in preserving this landmark helped keep Stanley’s history alive for generations to come.
It is thanks to women like Marquis and Osborn that the Sawtooth basin is the incredible place that it is. So, from the Sawtooth Society, thank you!
