After a long energetic life dedicated to the conservation of wildlife in Arizona, Frances Watson Werner died on September 30, 2016 at the age of 90. She was born and raised in South Barre, Vermont, and attended the University of Vermont where she received bachelors and masters degrees in zoology. She met a young professor, Floyd Werner, there who she married in 1952. Their daughter Susan was born in 1953, and they moved to Tucson early in 1954 when Floyd was hired by the Entomology Department at the University of Arizona.
Sons William and John were born in Tucson. Frances was an active volunteer for over 50 years helping in schools and political campaigns. In 1980 she was appointed to the Arizona Game and Fish Commission where she served for ten years. In the 1990s, she was appointed to the Bureau of Land Management Resource Advisory Council, which she chaired for several years. She received several major awards and was inducted into the Arizona Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2009. Locally, she worked on trail access and on Pima County’s Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan. Frances was selfless in giving. She supported her husband and three children in every way imaginable. Frances is survived by daughter Susan (Bruce Ackerman) of Montrose, CO, sons William of Phoenix and John (Sally) of Kingman. A Celebration of Life will be on January 28, 2017 at 1:00PM at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, 2021 N Kinney Rd. Memorial donations be made to the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, www.adbss.org, water hole projects fund, or Catalina Restoration Project fund; or to the Arizona Land and Water Trust, www.aolt.org, land and water fund.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Frances W. Werner (Watson), please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.