On Saturday morning, my dear birding friend Stella Walsh passed away due to complications of cancer which she had been fighting for years. She was my birding buddy and good friend for many years, always up for a birding trip… that is until the last few years as her health declined, and I spent more time visiting her and her cat Gracie, at her apartment in Yarmouth. But as she struggled with cancer and failing health, she still stayed connected with many of us through Facebook, emails, and text messages. She was my encyclopedia of knowledge, often scoffing at me for asking her too many questions. She’d laugh and would say “Google it Becky!” And then she’d google it for me. She had a big heart, always thinking of gifts for others, or prepping food for CBCs, or taking cookies to events, or working on Merrymeeting Audubon postings, or answering bird emails sent to Maine Audubon. She entered MANY USGS bird records, and MANY eBird reports for Peter Vickery. She spent endless hours birdbanding and working on islands with tern colonies and puffins. And all of these activities were volunteer, never asking for anything in return. I’ll miss all the bird discussions we had, our Sunday morning waffles, our birding excursions, her cat Gracie, her biscotti, the constant texting any time of any day, her crankiness, her laughter, her generosity. These memories will always be with me and I’m happy to have been a part of her amazing life. Rest in peace Stella.
Becky
Becky Marvil
Yarmouth, ME
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