Rembering a good friend

I want to offer this time to remember a good friend and colleague, Jean Kavanaugh. She was a pioneer in the development of Therapeutic Gardens and instrumental in the collaboration between the American Society of Landscape Architects and the American Horticultural Therapy Association. Jean served as a member of the Executive Board of AHTA for many years. She was actively involved in ASLA and AHTA in many ways. Jean’s endeavors helped raise awareness of the importance of the development and use of Therapeutic Gardens. She tirelessly worked to promote the importance of Therapeutic gardens and to also evaluate their effectiveness through research. She will be missed by many people and in many ways. The following is taken from her obituary.

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Jean Stephans Kavanagh of Lubbock, TX, a native of Forest Hills, age 61, died peacefully after a brief battle with cancer on Friday, January 25, 2008. Jean was the daughter of the late Rita P.(Nehrig) and John G. Stephans. Beloved mother of Douglas Camann. Jean studied Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA from 1964 - 1969. She received her Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture in 1976 and her Masters of Landscape Architecture in 1982 from Cornell University, Ithaca NY. Jean was an Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX. She joined the department in 1990 after teaching Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst ('82-'89). She was active in community and professional outreach and has served as an officer of the Texas Chapter of the ASLA, the Horticultural Therapy Association, Sigma Lambda Alpha National Landscape Architecture Honor Society, and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA). Jean pioneered in the study of the design of therapeutic landscapes in the United States. In 1995, she was recognized as one of the top women in Landscape Architecture. During the Centennial ASLA Meeting in Boston, MA, in 1999, she was inducted into the College of Fellows of the ASLA in recognition of her efforts in this area of research. The family requests Memorial Donations be made to Texas Tech Foundation (Jean Stephans Kavanagh Endowment), P.O. Box 42123, Lubbock TX 79409 or, Maryknoll Missionaries, in care of Robert V. Nehrig, P.O. Box 304, Maryknoll, NY 10545.