Conservationist who was most at home in her own garden
Growing up on Heathcote Farm in Kingston, N.J., Paula Sculley developed a love of nature. It would turn into a lifelong pursuit of conservation, leading to accolades and awards.
Ms. Sculley died Feb. 22 at home in Sewickley after battling a benign brain tumor for many years. She was 71.
Brilliant in the classroom, she was accepted into Smith College by age 16. After Smith, she earned a master’s degree in education from Harvard and then taught high school English for several years, speaking five languages and traveling the world.
Her father, Peter Cook, a well-known artist, instilled a love of creativity in her, and she became an avid quilter, each one weaving its own tale.
“She was an amazing wife to me,” said her husband, David, former CEO of H.J. Heinz U.S.A. “She was a true renaissance woman. I knew her for over 50 years and she has been my life. A truly unselfish woman, she always cared more about the world around her than herself, touching so many lives.”
Her fondness for nature and conservation eventually led to becoming president of the Garden Club of Allegheny County, cofounding Botany in Action with her best friend, Susan Clancy, in 1995.
“We knew each other for over 45 years and would scheme over tea every afternoon about ways that we could help the community,” Ms. Clancy said.
The organization was dedicated to funding ethnobiology graduate students’ field work, particularly for preserving tribal knowledge and traditions of medicinal plants.
Botany in Action was eventually transferred to Phipps Conservatory, where it still exists.
The “scheming” also led to the creation of Pizzazz in the early 1990s, a yearly shopping event now held at Fox Chapel Country Club. The Garden Club of Allegheny County uses the money from the event to fund projects.
“That first year we put on Pizzazz, it rained so hard that everyone was stuck inside. We raised $20,000 in one day, and we knew we had a winner on our hands,” Ms. Clancy said.
Pizzazz has gone on to raise more than $1 million supporting conservation projects throughout the area, she said.
In 1997, Ms. Sculley cofounded the Fern Hollow Nature Center in Sewickley Heights and became its first board president.
In 2005, she was the recipient of the Garden Club of America’s Margaret Douglas Medal, given to the person foremost in furthering the cause of conservation education in the U.S.
She was most at home in her own garden, though.
“She had this amazing ability to take a bunch of wildflowers and turn them into the most beautiful arrangements to adorn the house,” Mr. Sculley said. “No one has ever said a bad word about her. She always took a positive view.”
“It’s true,” Ms. Clancy said. “Even toward the end when she went blind for the last year, she would say to me, ‘But aren’t I lucky? Look at all the time I’ve had.’ She never complained, always focused on giving back. You couldn’t ask for a better friend.”
In addition to her husband, Ms. Sculley is survived by a daughter, Heather Reedy of Boulder, Mont.; a son, D. Sculley, of Cambridge, Mass.; three brothers, Peter Cook of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., John Cook of Princeton, N.J., and Stephen Cook of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; and three grandchildren.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Fern Hollow Nature Center, 1901 Glen Mitchell Road, P.O. Box 8, Sewickley, PA 15143.
A memorial service will be held in the spring in Sewickley.