Mary McEldowney-Evanson co-founded the organization Friends of Haleakalā National Park in partnership with the National Park Service, and her name became synonymous with environmental activism on Maui.[1] December 20 was proclaimed as "Mary Evanson Day" by Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa to honor her 95th birthday in 2016.[2] Evanson's conservation work is well recognized by the conservation community because there is scarcely an environmental health group in Maui where Evanson was not involved with their founding.[3] Evanson died in May 2019 at the age of 97.[3]