Longtime Devils Tower employee Sue Skrove retiring

After 34 years of federal service, we congratulate Sue Skrove on her upcoming retirement! During her career Skrove worked in various parks and positions.

Skrove began her relationship with the National Park Service as the business manager for Devils Tower Natural History Association. Over the next four years, she decided that she wanted to wear a flat hat and was hired as a seasonal interpretive ranger.

She had many great “encounters” with visitors. One of her most memorable occurred during those early years at the Devils Tower Visitor center.

Skrove says, “I was visiting with a Kiowa woman who came to the information desk. She spoke of the stories her grandfather told her that were told to him by his grandfather about the winter camps they would set up in the shadow of the Tower.

“She was very detailed in where she thought the camp was set up. And when she was done telling me her recollections, she got a big grin on her face, reached out and took my hand and told me she was so glad she finally got to see it. She was 83 years old.”

After graduating from University of Wyoming, Skrove continued to work seasonally for the Park Service, spending winters at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site in North Dakota and summers at Devils Tower. In 1993, Skrove traveled a little farther north to Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park to see where her grandfather Fount Bush had traveled during the gold rush. Skrove returned to Devils Tower and worked as a term interpretive ranger, and then in 1998 moved to headquarters as an administrative assistant. In 2008, she was promoted to Administrative Officer.

When reflecting on the past 38 years spent primarily in the shadow of Devils Tower, Skrove says, “The Park Service has been such an amazing part of my life, the Park Service is truly a big family and I have had the privilege to work with many wonderful and dedicated people over the years. The visitors I have met and the stories we have shared will always have a special place in my heart.”

Skrove plans to continue living in Hulett, Wyoming with her furry kids. She looks forward to having time to finish many projects and start a few new ones.

A new furry kid most likely will join the family next summer. “Puppy breath is the best!” she says.