Mary Ellen Hope

Mary Ellen Hope, age 60, of Bethesda, Maryland, passed on February 18, 2010 at Canterbury Center in Shepherdstown, WV after a 12 year battle with cancer. She was born November 18, 1949 in New Haven, Connecticut to parents Malcom Colburn Hope and Ellen Anne Hope. Mary Ellen earned her B.S. in Advertising/Design at University of Maryland in 1971 and her M.S. in Park Management at University of Oregon in 1977. In 1978 she earned a diploma in Law Enforcement/Park Management and was commissioned as a Park Warden and Law Enforcement Officer for the Maryland State Park Service at Cunningham Falls State Park. It was in this role that she developed her lifelong love of nature. In 1986, Mary Ellen began a career with the Maryland Department of Transportation, State Aviation Administration at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. She excelled in challenges presented to her in her role as Manager of Community Relations until 1990 when she became a Special Assistant at the Office of Airport Operations where she worked closely with Federal Inspection Agencies, the Maryland State Police and MdTA at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. In October of 1992, Mary Ellen became the Airport Security Coordinator at the Office of Airport Operations for BWI Airport, where she was responsible for the security and needs of nearly 11,000 Airport employees and 620 companies and transit organizations. She is survived by her husband, Anthony Carmen of Bethany Beach, Delaware; son, Anthony V. Carmen and his wife Kristin Carmen; granddaughter Stella Rae Carmen; brother John Hope; and cousins Mary Beth Moisan and Elizabeth "Binky" Petschel. From her time as a Park Ranger, Mary Ellen developed a life long appreciation of nature and wildlife. She enjoyed spending time in nature at the Catoctin Mountains as well as in Bethany Beach, Delaware. In 2008, she succeeded in building her dream home; a log cabin in Smithsburg, MD just over a mile from the park in which she began her career; in close proximity to Camp David, which we affectionately refer to as "Camp Hope". Her beloved pets included Cocker Spaniels Dewey, Dasha and Penny as well as a Yellow Shouldered Amazon parrot named Lori.