Tiffany Elise Staelin was the beloved daughter of Susan K. "Penny" and Stephen H. Staelin, born in Toledo, Ohio on August 19, 1973. She was engaged to be married to Thomas J. "T.J." Filip on July 9, 2005. She passed away unexpectedly in her sleep in New York City on the morning of October 29, 2004. Her mother and she were on a wedding planning trip at the time of her death. She was thirty-one years old and a resident of Philadelphia.

Tiffany was a profoundly beautiful person with a deep sense of commitment to her family and friends, as well as the natural environment that surrounded her. She was a sincere, conscientious steward of God's world.

She was a naturalist and an expert in wilderness expeditions, having taught and led groups of teenagers throughout the Rockies and Pacific Northwest, including Alaska. Tiffany loved nature and all its treasures. She taught leadership skills, environmental conservation and preservation, team building, self-respect and personal growth for teenagers. In the last three years, she worked as an environmental consultant in Boston, primarily serving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on matters related to the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. Most recently she taught high school science in Philadelphia and was enrolled at The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Tiffany spent her formative years in Toledo and Louisville, Kentucky, where she attended Kentucky Country Day School and was a Kentucky State Gymnastics Champion. She graduated with honors from Ottawa Hills High School and cum laude from Colgate University, where she majored in Environmental Geography, with a minor concentration of study in Biology. After graduating with a bachelor of science degree, she worked in Jackson, Wyoming where she studied forestry and natural history at the Teton Science School. In Jackson, she designed both a curriculum based on the natural history of Grand Teton National Park as well as the website for the National Museum of Wildlife Art, authoring the ecologically interpretive text for both web site and in-house curriculum.

She studied in Australia at the Great Barrier Reef and lived in Hong Kong where she developed the environmental education curriculum for the Hong Kong school system. While living in Asia, she traveled and hiked extensively in Korea, China, Tibet, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore. She and her fiancé, T.J. Filip shared a love of Asian culture and the environment.

Her love of running inspired her to compete and finish the New York City Marathon in 1999. She was also an enthusiastic downhill, telemark and back country skier who relished the natural beauty of the mountains. May she find peace in returning to her natural world.

Tiffany is survived by her parents; her loving brother, Dr. Stephen Tyler Staelin (Katie) and the love of her life, her fiancé, Thomas James "T.J." Filip; her devoted grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. David M. Katchka; many aunts, uncles and cousins. Tiffany was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Carl G. Staelin.

Special recognition and appreciation is extended to our friends, members of the New York City police and medical examiners' office, the management and staff of The Plaza Hotel and the partners and staff of Ernst & Young. Their support and sensitivity at this tragic time have been a source of great comfort to the Staelin family.

This obituary was published in the Toledo Blade on Tues, Wed and Thurs, Nov 2, 3, and 4, 2004.  It was also published in the Carlisle Sentinel and the Jackson Hole News & Guide.

Additionally, the Toledo Blade published a feature obituary on November 3, 2004.