Remembering William Penn Mott, Jr.

The National Recreation and Park Association and park supporters across the United States lost one of their most articulate and dedicated champions when William Penn Mott, Jr. died this past September. Mr. Mott's death from heart failure at the age of 82 is mourned by park, recreation and political leaders around the country and leaves a huge leadership void in support of many important national and local causes.

Mr. Mott was an NRPA Board of Trustees member and a staunch supporter of the merger of various park and recreation groups that created NRPA. He was a charter member of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and a trustee of the National Park and Conservation Association.

Mr. Mott began and ended his career with the National Park Service. He served as director of the National Park Service for four years, expanding the park system by 17 new parks even during a time of fiscal retrenchment. At the time of his death, Mr. Mott was a special assistant to the director of the National Park Service's Western Region, working primarily on plans for the transformation of the Presidio in San Francisco to its new status as a National Park and assisting in the upgraded planning for Yosemite National Park.

He began his career as a Landscape Architect with the National Park Service in the San Francisco office in 1933 and he served the park and recreation field for nearly 60 years.

For 17 years he was superintendent of parks in Oakland, CA, creating the nation's first theme park in Lakeside Park. As general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District for five years he revitalized the district and helped transform it into the largest multi-county regional park system in the country. From here he was appointed by then-Governor Ronald Reagan to serve as director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, doubling the size of the park system.

All of his life, Mr. Mott was untiring in his efforts to help good causes which would help improve the quality of life. His vision, energy, enthusiasm, inspiration and creativity endeared him to his friends and co-workers. He envisioned a ring of parks around San Francisco Bay with connecting trails. Now, 35 years later, this dream is on the verge of becoming a reality in both the Bay Ridge and Bay Shoreline trails.

"Parks are for people," was Mr. Mott's oft-repeated refrain and his leadership in the park field has been compared with that of John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt. He helped other countries to improve their park systems as well, traveling to Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand and India in order to help these countries with plans for their parks.

Mr. Mott is survived by his brother, Douglas Mott of Bath, MA; and his two sons, William Penn Mott, III and John David Mott.