Elliott Menashe passed away unexpectedly on April 27, 2024, in Everett, WA. He left behind his family of siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, and many friends and colleagues who all miss him terribly. Elliott was a memorable guy, with a brilliant, agile, and sarcastic mind. He had a poet’s heart and wasn’t afraid to use it. He was funny, loving and unapologetically authentic. Elliott was an amazing and loyal friend to many; quick to give insightful advice… that he often chose to ignore for himself. Those who met him will never forget him.
He was 71 and lived a full and consequential life, having survived Multiple Myeloma for the previous nine years, with the assistance of so many dear friends. Elliott was born in Portland, OR in 1952, the second of four siblings, to Sal and Katie Menashe. He spent his adolescence in Los Angeles, but settled on Whidbey Island in the late 1970’s.
Elliott was a caretaker of the natural world. He dedicated most of his life to protecting the ecological integrity of forests and bluffs in the Puget Sound region and elsewhere in lasting ways and educating others in doing so. He would frequently observe that agencies, politicians, and ne’er-do-well developers were “creating tomorrow’s problems today.”
Elliott attended UCLA and obtained a BS in Forestry with a minorin Fisheries from UC Berkeley. Before becoming a private environmental consultant in 1987, Elliott worked for the US Forest Service, University of California’s Forestry Dept, the YCC, the Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Washington State Department of Fisheries, among many other organizations. He lectured on shoreline and bluff management and the value of vegetation at numerous symposiums, conferences, seminars, and workshops sponsored by Federal and State Agencies. Elliott provided personal consulting and services to many grateful Puget Sound based clients over his long career. A lifelong writer and educator, Elliott wrote “Vegetation Management: A Guide for Puget Sound Property Owners” for the Washington Department of Ecology, among many other original works available on his widely referenced and respected website, www.GreenbeltConsulting.com. Please see his Bio for more details. Per Elliott’s wishes, his website will continue to be available as a resource indefinitely, and we are working on a plan to add to it.
Elliott was passionate about not only preserving and rehabilitating beautiful forests, bluffs, and shorelines, but also assuring they were accessible to all. He was our own personal Lorax. The Spotted owls are weeping… Please take a hike at one of his many favorite spots on the island and keep him in your thoughts.
Elliott was a voracious reader and collector/protector of books, movies and music, evidenced by his extensive and meticulously organized library. Elliott loved good food, and he developed into quite a talented cook later in life. Elliott was notoriously frugal, a frequent visitor to numerous Island thrift stores, evidenced by the vast collection of “stuff” that amused him on display in his home – organized chaos.
A celebration of his life will be held on South Whidbey on July 13, 2024, check with your friends for details. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to: ElFest@GreenbeltConsulting.com for more details, and to let us know if you’d like to help in some way. We will also be collecting digital pictures and short videos via that email address for a slide show. Elliott was very photogenic…
Donations in his honor can be made to Whidbey Environmental Action Network (WEAN), Friends of the Clinton Library, Good Cheer Food Bank&Thrift Store & to Whidbey Island Nourishes (WIN). Some have already planted trees in his honor, which we think he would love.
