Anne G. Chacon

MADISON-Anne G. Chacon, a longtime Madison environmental activist, died at her home in Monona on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, after a long illness. She was 76. She was born in Alexandria, Va. Her father, George Galland, was a Washington lawyer and her mother, Marion Gibbs Galland, was a political activist and later one of the few women in the Virginia State Legislature. Anne attended public school in Alexandria, spent a year in a prep school in Pennsylvania and talked her way into Duke University after completing only her junior year in high school. After college, she spent a year in Paris as the librarian for the International Herald Tribune. Anne returned to America and joined VISTA, where she worked with agricultural workers in the Central Valley of California. While in California, she married Carlos Chacon and had a son, Carlos, now an insurance agent in Madison; the marriage ended in divorce. Anne moved with her son to Madison in 1978 to attend graduate school in Scandinavian Linguistics. In Madison, she became active in the Broom Street Theater, acting in several productions. Anne bought a house on S. Marquette St. behind the Madison Kipp Corporation. Over time, she became increasingly interested in environmental issues and was instrumental in starting an environmental group called Clean Air Madison. Anne spent years gathering evidence that the Kipp Corporation was not compliant with environmental regulations. She made effective use of media, making her case through appearances on WORT and writing pieces for local newspapers. Anne’s efforts, at first, were given short shrift by the Department of Natural Resources, but ultimately those efforts and those of others convinced the Department to take remedial action. This action led to a lawsuit which the Kipp Corporation ultimately settled for large-scale monetary relief for homeowners living near the plant. In recent years, facing serious health issues, she cut back her public activities, although she continued to do research on local environmental issues. At home, Anne cherished time spent with her cats, Trixie and Simpson. She is survived by her son, Carlos Chacon and his wife, Karyn; a granddaughter, Ella Chacon; and her brother, George Galland of Evanston, Ill. A Celebration of Life will be held at GUNDERSON EAST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 5203 Monona Dr., Madison, at 3 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018. Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 1:30 p.m. until the time of the service on Saturday. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Aldo Leopold Nature Center at http://aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org/. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Dr. (608) 221-5420