Friends of Allegheny Wilderness Friday announced the passing of Jim DeLong, 71, of Titusville, a long-time supporter of the Friends and an advocate for wilderness protection.

He was a retired Oil City school teacher, Prudential Insurance representative, and retired Oct. 1, this year, from Empowerment/Great West as a certified financial advisor where he was passionate about his work advising Pennsylvania state employees on how to plan for retirement.

In 2007, DeLong was honored as a Wilderness Hero by the Wilderness Society for his dedicated efforts to protect the Allegheny National Forest.

He was quoted in the Titusville Herald as saying, from the first time he read through the Citizens' Wilderness Proposal for Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest he knew he had to get involved in the effort to permanently protect his beloved forest.

His favorite hobbies were kayaking and searching out little-seen waterfalls in the Pennsylvania wilderness.

One of his favorite places in the ANF is the proposed Tracy Ridge Wilderness Area now undergoing review by the U.S. Forest Service.

An avid photographer and outdoorsman, he published “A Walk In The Park,” a book of photography and history of Oil Creek State Park.

Click Here to read his obituary.

(Photo: Jim DeLong, Titusville Man Honored As Wilderness Hero, Titusville Herald, May 8, 2007.)

11/6/2017