Susan Karens - October 3, 2008

Susan completed her journey home. She has gone ahead to prepare the way for her husband and spiritual partner of seven years, Christopher Harris; mother and father; Frank and Maggie Pellizzon; sister Jackie Phillips, her husband Walter, and their boys, Conner and Parker and the pooches Smudge and Murphy. She is also survived by her birding and painting buddies (brothers) Ed and Greg, his partner Debbie Drover and all of the relatives in Holland and Italy. During the last twenty months Susan provided for all who knew her with an example of what commitment, perseverance, courage, love and the power of belief truly means. In the face of overwhelming odds Susan never wavered from the stand she chose and the vision she beheld. Her journey and spiritual transformation will be remembered forever. To the family and many friends, colleagues and associates whose lives Susan touched, know that her spirit is still with us as it will be until all who follow greet her once again as we complete our own journeys home.

Fenwick Lansdowne - July 27, 2008

Born in Hong Kong in 1937, Lansdowne was left partially paralyzed after he had polio when he was 10 months old. He immigrated with his mother, Edith, to Victoria in 1940.

From 1975 to 1987, he had annual exhibits at the Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wisconsin, the Holy Grail of bird art. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria and in 1995 was awarded the Order of Canada.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, wrote the foreword to Lansdowne's Birds of the West Coast: Volume Two.
"Fenwick Lansdowne has the exceptional ability to capture such moment with a seemingly effortless assurance, but which can only come from intimate knowledge, immense care and remarkable talent."

Despite the international renown, Lansdowne's studio was a small, sparsely furnished cottage in Oak Bay. There, he would use bird "skins," a few pencil sketches and memory to create his lifelike paintings.

Victoria artists remember Lansdowne as a private, humble man who disliked special attention. In 2004, he agreed to be honorary president for the Rocky Point Bird Observatory. As honorary president, he visited the site with his daughter Emma, and was clearly taken with the work that we are doing.

Lansdowne is survived by his wife, Helen, son, Tristram, and daughter, Emma. Emma and Helen participated in the Northern Saw-whet Owl Banding project in 2008. The Lansdowne family continues to support the work of Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

David Kelly - 1 July 2008

David was born in Colwyn Bay, Wales, and spent the first ten years of his life on the Isle of Man. David's family emigrated to Canada in 1955, his father joined the RCAF, and David spent the next decade on airforce stations in Quebec, Alberta and Ontario. He completed highschool in Goderich, Ontario, after which he attended and received degrees from the Universities of Waterloo, Toronto and Harvard. David spent his career helping to build and improve medicare from within the civil service.

David became President of Rocky Point Bird Observatory in 2004, and his expertise and energy helped take our organization to a whole new level. David encouraged us all to look to the future at what RPBO could be and work towards those goals.

Throughout his life, David was an avid bird watcher and enthusiastic cyclist. His passion for the outdoors took him on adventure tours across Canada and many parts of the world. He was a board member of the Habitat Acquisition Trust. In his retirement, David continued his love of politics by serving as President of the Saanich Gulf Islands Federal Liberal Riding Association where he gained many staunch supporters and admirers. David is survived by the love of his life, Sharon; his children Jane, Jason and Evan; grandchildren Bryana, Hudson, Robyn and Ronan; parents Stan and Lil; and brother John.

Michael Porter -October 1, 2005

Deeply loved by his wife, Anne; his children and their spouses, Tanya (Jim), Sandy (Dale), Erik (Nicole), Owen (Dorrit), Rebecca; and his granddaughters, Shelby and Taryn. Born in Eastbourne, UK on August 9th, 1934, he moved to Canada with his parents in 1953. Michael had an outstanding medical career which continued long beyond his official retirement. Until he became ill, he travelled the world, sharing his expertise to improve the health and lives of many.

Michael had many interests. He was an avid bird watcher, and a founding member of the Long Point Bird Observatory, major contributor to the early work of Bird Studies Canada, and valued member and director of Rocky Point Bird Observatory. He was also a passionate collector of antiquarian books, specializing in the Arctic, Antarctic and early voyages. Most of all, he was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was also a fund of knowledge, compassion and generosity. His sense of adventure and love of life affected all who knew him.

Before his death, Michael created the Rocky Point Bird Observatory Endowment Fund to provide an anchor for the future.

Bev Glover - September 12, 2001

Bev Glover was one of the founding members of Rocky Point Bird Observatory and served as a Board Member, volunteer coordinator and site manager for several years. Born and raised in Victoria, Bev earned a BSc in biology from UVic in 1979 before heading to Ontario for a master's in botany and environmental biology at the University of Guelph. She stayed there for another five years, honing her considerable teaching skills as a lab instructor.

Bev returned to UVic in 1989, where she had the difficult task of coordinating teaching labs, organizing teaching assistants, preparing lab materials, filling in for faculty at lectures and acting as a surrogate parent for students, grad students, and sometimes, even faculty. Year after year, students consistently rated her as one of the best teachers in the department.

Glover died in September, 2001 after a protracted battle with cancer.

"Bev was incredibly patient and always good-humoured, and her unbridled enthusiasm for biology was infectious,"says Dr. Nigel Livingston, director of the Centre for Forest Biology. "Literally thousands of students were touched and inspired by her. She was loved and respected by them, as she was by her colleagues. She is greatly missed." The University of Victoria named a building in her honour. The Bev Glover Greenhouse was opened in 2002.