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Stephen S. Myers
LAKEVILLE — Stephen S. Myers, 82, of Lakeville, (formerly of New York City, Almond, New York, Kane’ohe, Hawaii, and Fair Oaks, California) passed away peacefully at his home on Nov. 30, 2024. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth “Betsy” (Phelan), his two sons Matthew and Shepherd, two nephews and three nieces.
Stephen was born in Elmhurst, Illinois, on Oct. 29, 1942, the son of the late Elwood Mosman and Donnie Marguerite Myers. Growing up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Stephen struggled with dyslexia in multiple high schools, ultimately graduating from Avon Old Farms High School in Avon, Connecticut.
Before attending Pratt Institute, he lived in a beach shack Shelter Island for a year and remembered this as a time when “you could walk the beach and eat the fish.” At Pratt he met his wife, Betsy, and helped to establish photography as a major there with the assistance of his friend Robert Mapplethorpe. As one of the first wave of artists to move to the Cast Iron District in Lower Manhattan, he and Betsy renovated a 3,200 square-foot loft and became one of many artists illegally living in the Soho loft spaces. They ran a photo studio for commercial clients, as well as doing street photography, including a role as the club photographer for the Alien Nomads’ MC or Motorcycle Club (which later became the New York City Hells Angels Chapter). He was a major contributor to New Journalism in New York City with Milton Glaser and Clay Felker during the 1960’s and 1970’s. His investigative photojournalism was featured in major stories about media figures along with current events in New York City and upstate New York. He documented multiple artists, musicians and notable persons (including Jim Morrison and The Doors, Sly and The Family Stone, Eddie Egan, Russell Means, Dennis Banks, John Lee Hooker, and Count Basie) from the Sixties to the present.
In the late 1970’s Stephen and Betsy relocated to Western New York where he continued his photography work full time, including becoming a field tester for Eastman Kodak’s pre-production professional films and papers, as well as photos in the ad campaigns to introduce the product to the marketplace. His North Coast Native American mask photography for the American Museum of Natural History was used extensively across dozens of publications. He was a runner-up for the 1998 Ellie National Magazine Award for his LIFE Magazine article about his plant photography in which he was featured.
In 1988 Stephen and his wife led a grassroots resistance campaign, with the help of physicist Theodore “Ted” Taylor and the local community, against the New York State government over a proposed low-level radioactive dump. Rallying everyone from hardscrabble farmers, the sheriff, political leaders, academics, media, and even the members of the local Mennonite community, they were able to increase their ranks and bring many disparate groups together. At one point Stephen read the Declaration of Independence to an audience of over 5,000 at a county-wide meeting. He considered this day, and the fact that the entire campaign remained a form of nonviolent protest, to be among his greatest accomplishments. This activism led to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge, New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), which is the first enduring challenge of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. They were able not only to stop construction of the dump, but also to change how the federal government would handle the disposal and containment of such waste for future generations.
His work was published in LIFE Magazine, New York Magazine, Esquire, Playboy, Fortune, A.D. Magazine, New Times Magazine, Harper’s Magazine, Natural History Magazine, VIVA Magazine, Seventeen, Audience Magazine, Working Woman, National Lampoon, The Saturday Review, and NOVA. Prints of his work can be found in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Fenimore Art Museum, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, George Eastman House, the Robert L. Pfannebecker Collection, the Almond Historical Society Archives, American Museum of Natural History, Robert Sobieszek Collection, Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, George Eastman House, the Sidney Clark Collection at Avon Old Farms, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) Collection, and Kroch Library’s Rare Manuscript Collections at Cornell University.
After raising his children in Western New York State, he and Betsy lived in various places before returning to the Northeast. Stephen had a lifelong passion and love for woodworking, painting (oil & watercolor), restoring antiques, attending estate sales and flea markets, listening to music, and riding his bicycle with his sons.
Ella L. Clark
WEST CORNWALL — Ella L. Clark, 83, a social worker, writer, and lover of nature and the Post Office, died Nov. 7, 2024 at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, after an acute stroke. Her family was with her in her last week.
Ella was predeceased by her parents, Benjamin S. and Charlotte L. Clark, her brother, Benjamin Clark, and her sister Tib Clark. Ella is survived by her daughter, Cristina Mathews of Fort Bragg, California, and her husband Jason and son Milo, her son Alexander Mathews, of Newton, Massachusetts, and his wife Olivia and children Ariana, Damian, and Torey, her daughter Jessica Meyer, of Pacific Palisades, California, and her husband Tim and children Ione and Nikos; and her sister Charlotte de Bresson of Paris.
Ella was born in New York City on Dec. 23, 1940. She was educated at Milton Academy and Radcliffe College. She married Richard Mathews in 1965; soon after, they traveled more than a thousand miles down the Yukon River. After building a house in Amenia, they moved, with their two children, Alexander and Cristina, then 2 and 3, onto a fishing boat, and fished commercially, first in southeast Alaska for salmon, and then up and down the West Coast for albacore.
In fall 1972, Ella moved on shore with the children, and her marriage ended. In Point Reyes Station, California, she found a close community of artists and carpenters and became involved in community projects. With Jonathon Meyer she had her third child, Jessica.
Ella moved back East in 1983, landing in Sharon. She was an EMT on the Sharon volunteer ambulance crew, and worked at Oblong Books in Millerton.
Ella’s real career began in 1988, when she began working for the town of Sharon as a social worker. For 31 years, she threw herself into the work, focusing especially on affordable housing, health services, and fuel assistance. Ella founded several organizations, including the Chore Service and the Sharon Community Foundation. She served on various boards and commissions, including the Sharon Hospital Board and the Cornwall Conservation Board. Ella was delighted to be named the Grange Citizen of the Year in 2007.
Ella was a prolific correspondent and writer. Ella enjoyed research, number crunching, and analysis to support grant applications and reports. She was a frequent Cornwall Chronicle contributor, often writing about the natural world, always choosing interesting, non-obvious topics. She loved digging into archives, getting the facts and voices right, and winnowing down what she had learned to the compact size the Chronicle demanded.
Ella moved to West Cornwall in 1991. Firmly rooted on Town Street, she “loved bird watching, taking photos of bears, smoking cigarettes after dinner, fighting for equity for all people, and putting orange peels on top of the fireplace,” as her granddaughter Ariana remembers.
A celebration of Ella’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at the Cornwall Village Meeting House, 8 Bolton Hill Road, Cornwall, Connecticut.
Richard George Ralph
EAST CANAAN — Richard George Ralph, 84, a beloved father, grandfather, and friend, passed away peacefully on Dec. 4, 2024, at his home in East Canaan, surrounded by his family. Born on Sept. 23, 1940, in Cornwall, Connecticut, he was the son of the late Marie (Kennedy) Ralph Negri and George Yeaton Ralph Jr.
Richard was the proud owner and operator of Richard Ralph and Son Rubbish Removal for many years. Known for his strong work ethic and reliability, he built a trusted business that served the community. After his retirement, his son Richard took over the reins, continuing the family tradition. Richard’s friendly demeanor meant that there weren’t many in the area who didn’t know him, and all were met with warm greetings and hearty waves.
Richard was known for his love of guitar playing and singing. From a young age, music was his lifelong passion. His vibrant presence could often be found at celebrations and events, where he would eagerly get up with the band and sing a song. Richard’s enthusiasm for music brought joy to everyone around him.
He leaves behind his children; daughter Leona Riley and her husband William of Clayton, North Carolina, and son Richard Ralph and his wife Joel of East Canaan. Affectionately known as “Papa Richard,” he is also survived by seven grandchildren; Holli (Riley) Dunlavey and her husband Jeff, Kristen (Riley) Ford and her husband Jon, Ashley (Riley) Riva and her husband Tyler, Ashley Chance, Jessica (Ralph) King and her husband Jordan, Justin Ralph and his fiancée Taylor Wheeler, and Lauren Ralph, as well as sixteen great-grandchildren.
Richard is also survived by three siblings; Donna (Ralph) Roux of Canaan, Stanley Ralph of Lakeville, and David Ralph of Salisbury, along with many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife of nearly 50 years, Cecelia (Tanner) Ralph, his brother Burton Veronesi, and his sisters Valerie (Ralph) Poley and Virginia (Ralph) Cables.
Services will be private at the family’s request. The Ralph family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to all who shared in Richard’s life, and they invite all who knew him to celebrate his memory with a donation to the Canaan VFW Couch Pipa Post 6851, 104 South Canaan Road, Canaan, CT 06018.
Charles H. ‘Chip’ Collins
NORFOLK — Charles H. “Chip” Collins, 70, died peacefully on Nov. 29, 2024, after a long illness with dementia. He was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, and friend. Chip was a visionary leader whose life and work left a lasting im pact in land and wildlife conservation.
Chip was born Oct. 20, 1954, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Francis H. Collins and Nancy C. Collins. He graduated from St. Mark’s School in 1973, and went on to study history at Colorado College, earning his bach elor’s degree in 1977. In 1992, Chip earned a master’s degree in environmental studies from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
Chip’s job at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy marked the start of a distinguished 40-year career dedicated to protecting the natural world. He served in several influential roles, including Colorado State Director for The Nature Conservancy and Vice President of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. In 1986, Chip was named the first Executive Director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. After graduate school, Chip moved to Massachusetts to serve as Vice President of Winslow Management, an environmental investment management firm. In 1995, Chip co-founded The Forestland Group, LLC, a timberland investment management organization, where he served as Managing Director until his retirement in 2014.
Chip married Anne Childs in 1989, and together they raised three children, Teddy, Caroline, and Alice, in Watertown, Massachusetts. Being a dad was Chip’s most cherished role in life. In addition to his professional work, Chip served on the Board of Directors for the Land Trust Alliance, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the Institute for Ecosystem Studies, Great Mountain Forest, the Student Conservation Association, the Quebec-Labrador Foundation, Shady Hill School, and the Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Cancer Research.
Chip’s dedication to the environment was matched only by his deep love for wild places and the species that inhabit them. An avid outdoorsman, Chip traveled widely on fishing and hunting trips. He loved growing up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, calling waterfowl with his dad and two brothers, and spending his summers on Lake Muskoka and Deer Lake in Ontario. He loved exploring the mountains of Colorado and the woods of Northwestern Connecticut.
Chip received exceptional care from many compassionate caregivers as his health declined. He never lost his love for the outdoors. Chip is survived by his wife, three children, daughter-in-law, Tory Collins, his mother, and his siblings, Alice Collins, Francis “Pat” Collins, and Edison “Eddie” Collins, along with many loved family members. A service will be held at Story Chapel in Mount Auburn Cemetery , Cambridge, Mass., at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2025. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the conser vation organization of your choice.
