Susan Cane Stone, 89, community leader, environmental activist, and public servant, of Urbana, Illinois, died on August 26 in Urbana after a long illness. Susan Stone was born in 1924 in New York City. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College and earned her Master's Degree in International Affairs from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. She met Victor J. Stone (1921-2010) while studying at St. Andrews University in Scotland; they married in 1951. Their daughter Mary was born in 1954, Jennifer in 1956, and Andrew in 1958. Susan began her professional career in 1947 as a research analyst for the U.S. government, a position she continued through 1954. Susan came to Urbana when her husband joined the faculty of the University of Illinois' College of Law in 1955. She and Victor resided in Urbana for the rest of their lives. While raising a family in the 1960s, Susan's civic and community activism developed, first through the League of Women Voters, and then through the Champaign County Development Council (CCDC). As chair of the League of Women Voters' County Problems Committee, Susan became interested in urban planning and beautification, and in 1964 she and others organized the conference "Blight or Beauty: Which Way Champaign County?" Susan co-founded the Champaign County Design and Conservation Foundation and served as its board chair and de facto executive director. CCDC contended with environmental issues well before they were part of mainstream consciousness. With other activists, Susan promoted a vision of an environmentally improved community. To honor the University of Illinois centennial in 1967, Susan co-led "Centennial Trees," a campaign to plant trees along University Avenue throughout Champaign-Urbana that gained national recognition. Susan worked with public officials in Champaign and Urbana to include tree programs in local government budgets. Stimulated by CCDC, public organizations accelerated acquisition of open space for conservation and recreation. Susan helped form the Champaign Country Regional Planning Commission, which brought federal grants for acquisition and development of park lands, forests, and prairies that preserved and restored natural areas. As a result of these efforts, Urbana became the first Illinois town to be designated "Tree City USA." Susan was elected three times as a Commissioner of the Urbana Park District. During her tenure, the Urbana Park District acquired 7 parks, Busey Woods, and the Anita Purves Nature Center. She worked with local developers and authorities to preserve and develop open spaces, ranging from the tiny Patterson Parklet in downtown Urbana to the extensive Meadowbrook Park. Her commitment to open space and natural areas spurred one developer to name a street after her, which caused several near-accidents when her friends drove past the street sign. As her children grew up, Susan pursued a professional life along with her community activism. She worked as a Special Assistant to the Illinois State Director of the Farmers Home Administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she promoted appropriate land use and protection of prime agricultural lands. In 1984, Susan was appointed by the Republican Governor of Illinois, James Thompson, as a Democratic Commerce Commissioner. She rapidly became known as a vigorous advocate and protector of the public interest. Susan chaired the Commission's Electric Policy Committee. She testified before Congressional Committees and authored dissenting opinions which the Illinois Supreme Court cited extensively in overturning and remanding Commission orders. She became active in the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in conservation and energy efficiency issues and co-founded its Energy Conservation Committee. While a Commissioner, she organized and chaired State conferences on Least Cost Integrated Energy Resource Planning and on Financing Decommissioning of Nuclear Generating Plants. Under pressure from utility companies, Governor James Thompson replaced Susan and a fellow Commissioner in 1989. The Chicago Sun Times editorialized that the two Commissioners had "angered some of the state's most powerful utilities by giving a fair hearing to consumers, approving utility refunds and rejecting unjustified rate hikes." (11/01/89) Susan maintained her involvement in civic affairs during her later years. She served on the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Committee. As an appointee of U.S. Senator Paul Simon, she served as chair of the U.S. Judicial Nominations Commission of the Central District of Illinois, working to remove politics and to emphasize merit in the judicial selection process. She raised funds for the renovation of the Urbana Free Library as a member of the Urbana Library Foundation Board and successfully lobbied to keep the downtown Urbana Post Office as a full-service facility. Susan loved to play tennis, which she pursued into her 80's. She was a vigorous contestant in all competitive games, including Wii bowling at Clark-Lindsay Village, where she moved with Victor in 2007. A lover of nature, she and her family enjoyed a summer cottage in the woods along the Lake Michigan shore, where she pursued watercolor painting in her retirement. Susan's many close friendships were vital throughout her life, and extensive foreign travel was an important part of Victor's and her later years. A New Yorker by birth, Susan became an enthusiastic mid-Westerner. She is survived by her children: Mary Stone, her husband Joel Hawkins and daughter Abigail, of Old Lyme, Connecticut; Jennifer Stone, her husband Robert Waldinger and sons Daniel and David, of Newton, Massachusetts; and Andrew Stone, his wife Ritu Nayyar-Stone and children Maya and Anjay, of Bethesda, Maryland. A memorial service for Susan Stone will be held at Clark-Lindsay Village on November 8 at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Urbana Park District Foundation.