Margaret Stacy Page

Stacy often joked that she was more about the destination than the journey.  Mainly because, she said, she wanted to see how things turned out.

As a nearly lifelong runner and athlete, she understood that a finish gave meaning to the endeavor.  And Stacy always finished the race, often in the top tier.  But for all the finishes she did experience, she’d be the first to tell you her life was an amazing journey – one that she deeply relished.

Margaret Stacy Page was born and joined her parents, Roberta and Milton Page, and her older brother Larry, on May 14, 1953, in Passaic, NJ.  When her younger sisters Nancy and Marianne came along, Stacy was a loving big sister.  When Stacy was 4 years old, the family moved to Lincoln, Massachusetts, where she attended elementary through high school.

Stacy’s path to Sheridan can be traced directly to those East-Coast-school connections.  After graduating in 1976 from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with a degree in Botany, she interned for a year in California.  On her way home, she stopped in Sheridan to visit her childhood friend, Susan “Sukey” Farley Ross, who fell in love with the area, and never left.

Mutual friends (and future brother-in-law Bud) introduced Stacy to Roger Sanders in 1977.  Stacy and Roger were married in 1986.  Out of the deal, Stacy got a huge, practical-joke-playing, boisterous, bird and wildflower watching, kind, supportive, and loving extended family, who welcomed her as one of their own:  namely, Roger’s parents Herman and Elaine Sanders, and his siblings Nancy, Leland (Bud), Doris, Mike, Jim, Patrice, and Alan.

In 1995, at the age of 42, Stacy had a “health scare”. After years of trying to start a family, she was totally blindsided by her pregnancy, and was mistakenly and ironically convinced she had cancer.  Stacy and Roger welcomed the birth of Samuel Martin Sanders on March 22, 1996.  Stacy said being a good mother was one of her proudest accomplishments. She also loved getting to know Sam’s life partner, Shannon Marks, whom she considered the daughter of her heart.

Stacy worked as a superintendent at the U.W. Extension Farm near Wyarno, WY for many years.  In 1986, she decided to pursue her Master’s degree in Plant Pathology, graduating in 1989 from the University of Wyoming.  She soon became a Vegetation Specialist for the Wyoming DEQ.  She worked for the State for 34 years, retiring in 2017. 

At DEQ, Stacy was known as a fair regulator, even though regulating was a role she didn’t particularly relish.  What she did like was talking about plants with the reclamation specialists from the coal mines!  And like plant geeks do, they all bonded over a mutual love of photosynthesizing things and remain friends today.

Stacy will be remembered as physically strong, even though she described herself as an average athlete!  Starting in Junior High, Stacy played field hockey, soccer, and tennis.  This is also when she began a lifelong love affair with running.  She thoroughly enjoyed all of the outdoor opportunities in Sheridan, from downhill and cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, and ice skating to biking, hiking, and backpacking.  Until illness stopped her, she worked out or ran daily with her friends Martha Swatt and Brenda Jacobs.  Stacy finished the Boston Marathon in 1985—a proud moment of which she nevertheless said, “once was enough!”  Along with her mentor Ronn Smith and friends Karen Powers, Wendell Robison, and Rich Garrison, Stacy was a founder of the Big Horn Mountain Wild and Scenic Trail Run, a 100-mile distance race in the Big Horns, which she organized for many years and continued to support as an aid station volunteer.

Stacy also nurtured a lifelong love of music.  Her family made sure she had piano lessons, which she, unlike so many other kids similarly coerced, actually enjoyed!  When it came time for band, she dreamed of playing the trombone, like her father.  But there were none available to rent, so she took up the French Horn instead.  After she retired in 2017, she re-dedicated herself to the Horn, taking lessons, and playing the occasional prelude for her Sheridan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.  She and Roger supported the arts in Sheridan and throughout Wyoming, regularly attending concerts here and in Laramie when Sam was at UW.  The Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson, WY, was many times a summer highlight.

Stacy enjoyed traveling and believed that it increased her appreciation and enthusiasm for the diversity in our world. Her travels outside of the United States and North America included motor touring or bicycling in England, Wales, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Australia.

Social activism was part and parcel of Stacy’s being.  She was involved in many social and environmental justice causes.  She served on the Board of the Powder River Basin Resource Council, Wyoming Promise, and the Sheridan Arts Council.  She was a member of the National Friends Service Committee (Quakers) and Sheridan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.  Stacy was a Democrat at heart, and with the assistance of friends Kris Korfanta and Barbara Chase, was able to re-register and realize her long-time dream of dying as a Democrat!

Stacy’s fighting spirit allowed her to outlive the expected prognosis for her cancer (metastatic uveal melanoma), and to live well besides. During this saga, she reconnected with Janelle Gray, and they called themselves cancer buddies.  On their walks, they’d gripe about their diagnoses (‘why me?’ finally becoming ‘well, why not me?’) their fears, indignities, and the keto diet!

Stacy passed away on Monday, August 16, 2021, surrounded by her loving family and friends at her home in Sheridan. Stacy wanted to be remembered as a good friend and a good cook, and she will be.  Until the very end, she was her lively, giving self, socializing with a steady stream of visitors to her and Roger’s home.  And while Stacy was beloved by many, she humbly asked us to resist holding her as an example. She wanted us to remember that she was as flawed and fallible as us all.

Stacy was preceded in death by her parents Milton and Roberta Page; brother Larry Page; brothers-in-law Mike Sanders and Hal MacDonald; nieces Andrea Page and Stephanie Sanders and nephew Ryan Martin Sanders.  She is survived by her husband Roger Sanders; son Sam Sanders and Shannon Marks; sister Nancy Grimaldi and Peter: sister Marianne McKnight and Andy; in-laws Nancy Hower and Herb; Bud Sanders and Carol; Doris Sanders and Jack Wilke; Jim Sanders and Judy; Patrice Sanders; Alan Sanders and Sherry Wickum; nieces and nephews Tim and Aron Hower, Geneva Ladtkow, Dan and Ashley Sanders, Jason and Megan MacDonald, Scott Sanders and Ryan Haley, numerous grand-nieces and nephews, as well as many, many friends.  She will be sorely missed.

Memorial contributions to honor Stacy may be made to Powder River Basin Resource Council, 934 North Main Street, Sheridan, WY 82801, or the Kearney Community Hall, P.O. Box 124, Story, WY 82842

The Stacy Page Memorial “Stretch Your Legs” Family Walk will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Sheridan at Whitney Commons Park from 3 pm – 5 pm. Appropriate for memorializing Stacy’s life, the gathering will feature a “drop-in”, untimed, conversation-friendly walk. The intent of the walk is to honor Stacy and encourage friends, community members, and Bighorn Trail runners to participate and learn about this remarkable woman. There will be tables in the Commons with photos and memorabilia, and signs along the casual two-mile walk route to inform people of Stacy’s values, interests, and community engagement. Join us in honoring Stacy, whose legacy continues to impact this community. Stacy’s obituary can be read and online condolences may be written at www.sheridanfuneral.com. Arrangements are under the care of Sheridan Funeral Home.