[TN-Bird] Re: Jeff Wilson passing
- From: "Ginger Goolsby" <vgoolsby@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "'TN Birds'" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:22:46 -0500
I shall miss Jeff's frequent posts, and even though I really did not know
him personally, I gained much knowledge and appreciation for birds from his
posts on TN Bird.
.
Ginger Goolsby
Morristown, TN
From: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Michael Todd
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 1:05 AM
To: TN Birds
Subject: [TN-Bird] Jeff Wilson passing
Friends,
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Jeff Wilson passed away over the
weekend. Evidently he passed in his sleep and his family found him today
when they returned from out of town.
Many of us here were lucky enough to call Jeff a friend, and a better friend
I could never ask for. The amount that Jeff has contributed to the
knowledge, distritbution, and identification of TN avifauna is beyond words.
Most of the top listers in the state owe a disproportionate number of their
birds directly to Jeff ( I know I do). It would be hard to add up the number
of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd state records Jeff had found, not only in TN, but the
surrounding states as well. Jeff's attentiont to detail, was incredible.
Such as his, at the time, near magical ability to differentiate Meadowlarks
in flight.. His passion for shorebirds has been seen by many on here, but to
spend a hot, stinky day at the Pits in Memphis looking at shorebirds was a
slice of heaven for many of us here.
Time spent with Jeff was always a lot of fun, whether it be birding, or just
swapping stories. I've known Jeff since I was about 12, which is 31 years
now. A number of those years I was out of birding, but ironically, stumbling
across TNBirds back in 2000 and reading some of Jeff's posts and great birds
at the time is part of what got me back into this great hobby. I'm very
proud to say I've spent more days than I can count running the backroads of
Memphis, Reelfoot, KY Lake and farther afield with Jeff. In the process I
learned more from him than all the many books in my library combined!
With Jeff's passing, I've lost the 2 people now I considered mentors; Don
Manning a few years ago for the first part of my birding career, and now
Jeff for the 2nd part. But, the memories I have will last a lifetime!
Jeff, Don, and others we've lost are probably ticking off Great Auks and
Labrador Ducks as we speak, or comparing field marks of Ivory-billed and
Imperial Woodpeckers!
As Jeff always said, "Bird to the Horizon!"
Mike Todd
McKenzie, TN
birder1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.pbase.com
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