Marjorie Sill Papers

Marjorie Sill, née Leite, was born December 2, 1923 in Bakersfield, California. She studied math and English at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating from college, she married Richard C. Sill, and they both became active environmentalists. They moved to Reno in 1959 when Richard joined the University Of Nevada, Reno faculty in the physics department. Marge taught math at Sparks High School, and both joined the Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club, where they rapidly rose to some prominence in environmentalist circles. The Sills divorced on May 12, 1977, and Richard died in a plane crash in 1981. Marjorie was one of the influential voices urging the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, and in the 1980s played instrumental roles in the creation of Great Basin National Park and the passage of the Nevada Wilderness Protection Act. Marjorie’s lifelong dedication to environmental protections and wilderness preservation earned her the moniker of “Mother of the Nevada Wilderness,” and tremendous respect. She was a founding board member of Friends of the Nevada Wilderness, and took part in a number of other organizations and groups, such as Great Old Broads for Wilderness and a variety of joint committees between environmental bodies. She was an active environmentalist and Democratic volunteer until she died on October 23, 2016, at the age of 92.