I'm embarrassed to see that my email from 24 Jul was only sent to myself. Please read below and see the copied obituary for Bruce Barker:
Bruce Clark Barker, 68, passed away on Friday, July 20, 2018 at his home in Dixmont, surrounded by the love of his family with a warm breeze and bird song drifting in the windows.
Bruce was born in Portland, where he lived with his parents and brother Tommy until 1968 when he headed to the University of Maine to pursue a degree in Entomology. He chose that major out of a love for nature that began when he was a young child, exploring the fields around his home and identifying every bird, bug and butterfly he could find. While the university did not offer a degree in Ornithology, Professor Albert Barden mentored Bruce and helped to further his knowledge and love of birds.
As a birder, Bruce loved sharing his passion with everyone and became a teacher to many. He and his wife, Sharon, enjoyed spring and fall bird migrations on Monhegan Island and throughout the rest of the year most days included birding. Driving was challenging for Bruce as it was hard to keep his eyes on the road; he never stopped birding. Another passion was Karate. Bruce began studying the art at age 15 and became a life-long practitioner, being Sensei to hundreds over his many years of practice. He lived his life according to the philosophy of Karate-do (the way of the open hand), and he was always appreciative of all the natural world had to offer. As a birder and a Karate Sensei, Bruce was a humble and curious man who became a mentor and an inspiration to many whose lives he touched.
In 1977 Bruce married Sharon Wilson and the two began a marriage that would last more than 40 years. Their family grew to include three daughters and five grandchildren. Family always came first, even before birding and Karate. and they found that every cliche about the joys and wonders of grandchildren was true.
Bruce is survived by his wife, Sharon, their three daughters, Tara (Josh), Caitlyn (Shane), and Hayley (Joe), and their five grandchildren, Kalen, Nora, Wylie, Eli and Milo. A celebration of his life will be held at their family home in Dixmont on August 4th, 2018 at 4pm. For details and directions, please contact Caitlyn Barker at (207) 449-8609 or caitlynebarker@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Rd., Holden, ME 04429.
On Jul 24, 2018, at 9:48 AM, Doug Hitchcox <dhitchcox@mac.com> wrote:Hi everyone:
I wanted to share the unfortunate news here that Bruce Barker passed away peacefully at his home on Friday morning. His wife, Sharon, asked me to help get the word out that there will be "A Celebration of Bruce Barker's Life" held next Saturday, August 4th beginning at 4:00PM at 643 North Road in Dixmont, ME. A Facebook event has been started where any updates will be posted: https://www.facebook.com/events/1862047203838516/
I also wanted to thank everyone who was able to take part in "Birding For Bruce" last week. It was heartwarming to see the amount of support coming in through your contributions from around the state; an amazing 128 confirmed and 158 coded species where shared with Bruce in just those few days.
Thank you all for getting Bruce out birding one last time.
Doug HitchcoxOn Jul 10, 2018, at 1:37 PM, 'Doug Hitchcox' via Maine birds <maine-birds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Fellow birders, I am asking you to participate in a very special event this week. As many of you may already know, Bruce Barker has been fighting a tough battle against a rare and very aggressive cancer. Sadly, treatments have been unsuccessful and he is currently in home hospice and not able to have visitors. However, a plan has been hatched for the Maine birding community to let Bruce know we are all thinking of him and show our appreciation for all he has done by taking him birding vicariously with us over the next week. With the blessing of Bruce's family, we have set up an eBird account named "Birding For Bruce" (username: BirdingForBruce) that we hope you will all share any birding you do from 10-15 July. Our goal is to collectively make a big contribution of checklists and breeding records during this time period, and at the end of the week summarize our observations in a final write up to share with Bruce so he can see the places, species, and breeding codes we were able to document in his honor.
Bruce has been a tremendously helpful member of our community. From birding with him on Monhegan, co-leading walks for the Acadia Birding Festival, or chasing rare birds in Penobscot County, I'll absolutely miss his company. He has always been the kind of birder to go beyond his own pursuits in helping others see their targets – I can vividly remember him assisting unstable festival participants aboard the Friendship V trying to spot their lifer Common Murres among the hundred-plus Razorbills on Petit Manan. Bruce wouldn't give up on pointing out those birds until everyone was happy and I hope we can raise his spirits a bit by helping him bird this week.
I've been amazed to learn his reach beyond the birding community and what an impact he had as a pioneer of Karate in Maine. Those peers started a Facebook page where his students, friends and colleagues have shared thoughts and images (https://www.facebook.com/groups/174990016481077/) and also a GoFundMe page set up to raise money to help Bruce and his family with medical expenses and support: https://www.gofundme.com/bruce-barkersfight-against-cancer
Bruce has also been an avid eBirder, having submitted over 2000 checklists in the last few years, and was planning on being a big part of the Maine Bird Atlas. He had volunteered to be a regional coordinator but had to step back when his health began deteriorating. Again, please consider sharing any eBird and Maine Bird Atlas checklists from now until July 15th with the username: BirdingForBruce.
Here are instructions on sharing lists if this is new to you: https://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1010555-understanding-the-ebird-checklist-sharing-process
Thank you and may your positive thoughts be with Bruce, his wife Sharon, and his family.
Doug Hitchcox
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