It is with great sadness I report that a great birder and an even better friend, Billy Fenimore, passed away on May 5, 2022, from a month-long battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare neurological illness that took his life much too soon.
Some of you may have known Billy personally as he was a very prominent figure in the birding world.
Many of you who read this blog and have visited the Eccles Wildlife Education Center at Farmington Bay most likely crossed paths with Billy at one time or another, even if you didn’t know him personally.
Billy was hired in 2018 to be the director of the Eccles Wildlife Education Center and is to thank for how wonderful it is today.
All the displays and artwork are a representation of his efforts and dedication to making the center a place where bird watchers can come to not only enjoy but learn from as well.
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It is because of bird watching and the Eccles Wildlife Education Center that I was fortunate to meet and get to know Billy Fenimore as well as I did.
Several times per week I would stop by and shoot the breeze with Billy, talking about birds and anything else that caused to come up in conversation.
He had such a great love for not only birds but teaching people about birds and helping them foster the same love for our avian friends as he had.
Billy made it a point to talk to as many of the visitors that came through his door as possible and it showed in every conversation he had how much he not only enjoyed his job but talking to the public as well.
I’ve been to the Eccles Wildlife Education Center a few times since he left work for the last time and there definitely is a large void where his love for birds had previously sat.
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Each time I look at the great blue heron rookery I am reminded of his efforts to make it better by not only replacing the old, worn-out nesting platforms but one day installing a live nest camera on one of the poles so all could see the miracle of life even if they weren’t able to visit in person.
It is this enthusiasm and dedication to his job and the world of birds that will be missed.
His friendship, however, will be missed, even more, a lot more if truth be told.
I can go anywhere to see birds but there aren’t many places one can go to meet and become friends with someone like Billy Fenimore.
For anyone wanting to help contribute to his family, a gofundme campaign has been set up to take donations to help out his family.
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