Remembering John Purcell - May 18, 1933 - October 24, 2022

[Leslie Borns]

Dear Ilbirders,

Last week, our beautiful man and elder statesman of the Chicago birding community, John Purcell, passed away after a long illness.  John was 89 years old and lived a full and vibrant life until 2017, when a tragic accident precipitated his decline.

John mentored hundreds of birders spanning several generations, and his imprint on Chicago lakefront birding is profound.  Back in the day, John birded with Dan Stahl, Owen McHugh, Jim Landing, Kanae Hirabayashi, and many of the other “greats.”  For decades, John arose early every morning, jumped on his bike and birded North Pond, South Pond, Lincoln Park Zoo, Lily Pool, Jarvis, Montrose, and everywhere in between.  He recorded his sightings on a tiny tape recorder, then came home and transcribed them into big books by hand.  These records of Chicago birds spanning over 40 years are priceless.

No one was a kinder, more generous birding partner than John.  He would always take the time to tell you what he saw and help you find whatever was out there.  Along with that you got wonderful stories and his philosophical wisdom.  And let's not forget his wicked sense of humor.  John loved finding Great Horned and other owl species buried up in trees and would spend hours patiently waiting for even the briefest sighting.  Whenever we heard the crows screaming at any time of day, it was game on.

John was my true love and life partner, and I had the extraordinary good fortune to be his best friend and companion for almost 30 years.  He was the wind beneath my wings, and delighted in every discovery, accomplishment, and advocacy success I had as the Steward of Montrose Beach Dunes for 22 years.  His image is on one of our interpretive signs (attached, with other photos of good times).

Besides birding, John had many other interests and hobbies, and his intelligent, inquisitive mind loved learning just about anything.  Botany, art, music, and railroad history and memorabilia were some of his other passions. 

We are planning a memorial for John next Spring and are discussing planting a memorial tree at Jarvis or Montrose in his honor.  I will post announcements as these events develop.

I hope you will cherish the warm and happy memories you have of John and the many gifts he gave us, as I do. 

In sorrow,

Leslie Borns

Chicago/Cook

Captions:

1.  John and Leslie in front of giant Dogwood tree at the Morton Arboretum on John's birthday, May 2008.

2.  John at home.

3.  John and Owen McHugh, the "Masters of Montrose," at the dunes one summer morning, March 17, 2009.  It was a slow birding day and I managed to get them to stand still for a picture.

4.  At home in our messy office, December 14, 2012.

5.  John and Geoff Williamson doing a selfie at Morton Arboretum, June 11, 2019.

6.  John's 88th birthday party at Dobson nursing facility, May 22, 2021.

7.  Trip to Montrose Beach with our wonderful caregiver, Glenn, where John saw the breeding Piping Plovers Monty, Rose, and their chicks, from the Park District's "beach wheelchair," July 20, 2021.

8.  At the Chicago Botanic Garden lily pool, just two weeks before John became gravely ill, September 19, 2022.

9.  John enjoying the railroad garden at Chicago Botanic Garden, September 19, 2022.

10. John standing next to one of the first occurrences of Lakeshore Rush (Juncus balticus var. littoralis), a plant that had not been seen in the Chicago region for over 50 years; this area later became Montrose Beach Dunes, June 2000.

[Leslie Borns]

Dear Ilbirders,

I hope you are all getting through Winter ok and safely navigating the minefield of respiratory viruses.

I deeply appreciated and found great comfort in your outpouring of condolence messages, cards, and calls after my October post about John's death (attached).  I recently learned something important about John that I wanted to share.  I think many of you will know who I'm talking about and understand the extra dimension it added to the portrait of John's life. 

When John was a boy in Glenn Ellyn, he and his friend Kevin Carter used to ride their bikes to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, where they took a birding class from someone John always called "Mrs. Watson."  John loved this class and it always seemed to me that it was a formative experience.  The ride to the Arb (as John called it) was about 5 miles, and he said that about halfway there, a large dog they nicknamed "Marmaduke" would jump off his home's porch, barking furiously, and run after them for over a mile.  They would arrive at the Arb, throw their bikes under the gate, and run up to the Thornhill Building where the class was held.  John told me that he and Kevin were the youngest class members and often he got the "gold star" for finding the most interesting birds.

In updating our bequest to the Morton Arboretum recently, I told someone about John's birding class.  I was informed that his instructor was none other than the famous naturalist, educator, and author May Thielgaard Watts.  No wonder John became such a passionate lifelong birder and student of the natural world! I don't know why I never put this together, and John was so modest he never talked about how famous Watts was.  For those unfamiliar with her, please take the time to read the link below.  She was an incredible force for nature and conservation in our region and someone you should know.

May Theilgaard Watts - Wikipedia

All the best,

Leslie Borns

Chicago/Cook

----- Forwarded Message -----

From: Leslie Borns <cak...@att.net>

To: ILBIRDS <ilb...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 07:07:02 PM CDT

Subject: [IBET] Remembering John Purcell - May 18, 1933 - October 24, 2022

Dear Ilbirders,

Last week, our beautiful man and elder statesman of the Chicago birding community, John Purcell, passed away after a long illness.  John was 89 years old and lived a full and vibrant life until 2017, when a tragic accident precipitated his decline.

John mentored hundreds of birders spanning several generations, and his imprint on Chicago lakefront birding is profound.  Back in the day, John birded with Dan Stahl, Owen McHugh, Jim Landing, Kanae Hirabayashi, and many of the other “greats.”  For decades, John arose early every morning, jumped on his bike and birded North Pond, South Pond, Lincoln Park Zoo, Lily Pool, Jarvis, Montrose, and everywhere in between.  He recorded his sightings on a tiny tape recorder, then came home and transcribed them into big books by hand.  These records of Chicago birds spanning over 40 years are priceless.

No one was a kinder, more generous birding partner than John.  He would always take the time to tell you what he saw and help you find whatever was out there.  Along with that you got wonderful stories and his philosophical wisdom.  And let's not forget his wicked sense of humor.  John loved finding Great Horned and other owl species buried up in trees and would spend hours patiently waiting for even the briefest sighting.  Whenever we heard the crows screaming at any time of day, it was game on.

John was my true love and life partner, and I had the extraordinary good fortune to be his best friend and companion for almost 30 years.  He was the wind beneath my wings, and delighted in every discovery, accomplishment, and advocacy success I had as the Steward of Montrose Beach Dunes for 22 years.  His image is on one of our interpretive signs (attached, with other photos of good times).

Besides birding, John had many other interests and hobbies, and his intelligent, inquisitive mind loved learning just about anything.  Botany, art, music, and railroad history and memorabilia were some of his other passions. 

We are planning a memorial for John next Spring and are discussing planting a memorial tree at Jarvis or Montrose in his honor.  I will post announcements as these events develop.

I hope you will cherish the warm and happy memories you have of John and the many gifts he gave us, as I do. 

In sorrow,

Leslie Borns

Chicago/Cook

Captions:

1.  John and Leslie in front of giant Dogwood tree at the Morton Arboretum on John's birthday, May 2008.

2.  John at home.

3.  John and Owen McHugh, the "Masters of Montrose," at the dunes one spring morning, March 17, 2009.  It was a slow birding day and I managed to get them to stand still for a picture.

4.  At home in our messy office, December 14, 2012.

5.  John and Geoff Williamson doing a selfie at Morton Arboretum, June 11, 2019.

6.  John's 88th birthday party at Dobson nursing facility, May 22, 2021.

7.  Trip to Montrose Beach with our wonderful caregiver, Glenn, where John saw the breeding Piping Plovers Monty, Rose, and their chicks, from the Park District's "beach wheelchair," July 20, 2021.

8.  At the Chicago Botanic Garden lily pool, just two weeks before John became gravely ill, September 19, 2022.

9.  John enjoying the railroad garden at Chicago Botanic Garden, September 19, 2022.

10. John standing next to one of the first occurrences of Lakeshore Rush (Juncus balticus var. littoralis), a plant that had not been seen in the Chicago region for over 50 years; this area later became Montrose Beach Dunes, June 2000.

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[John Viramontes]

My interaction(s) with John was a formative experience!

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[M.Bernat]

Oh Leslie! What a fantastic human story linked to John!! Thank you so much for sharing it with IBET! I’m a big fan of May Thielgaard Watts. 

Reading the Landscape is an incredible book about how the natural landscape reveals the forces of nature that created it throughout America. Watts explains how the Chicago Wilderness area was shaped by glaciers while the unglaciated area of NW Illinois and SW Wisconsin were not. The periods of glaciers that passed through northern IL scraped away layers of bedrock all the way back in time to more than 400 million years ago in the Chicago area, and all the way around the northern rim of the Great Lakes, aka The Ledge, to Niagara Falls, which tumbles over the same rock layer as the coral reef that has become the humungous hole along I-80/294 known as Thorntom Quarry. 

I don’t remember if Watts discussed birds or other wildlife in the book but I can praise her powers of observation in the field that explained  geologic discovery through real life examples for the understanding of future generations. The naturalists at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in SW Cook County, my BCN monitoring site, fulfill my image of what Watts must have been like. Their bird walks and summer workshops are eye-opening, especially their earth science workshop, which seems to channel the great May Thielgaard Watts.  . 

Thanks again, Leslie. Had we only known this years ago! But we know it now!

 

Mary Bernat

South Cook County

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Attachments:

• John and Leslie at Morton Arboretum by Teri Radke May 18, 2008.jpg
  
• John at Argyle Street.JPG
  
• John and Owen at dunes March 17, 2009.jpg
  
• John and Leslie 12-14-12.jpg
  
• John and Geoff at Morton Arboretum 6-11-19.jpg
  
• John's 88th birthday party at Dobson - group shots 5-22-21.jpg
  
• John trip to Montrose with beach wheelchair 7-20-21 by Michael Roche.jpg
  
• John and Leslie at the Chicago Botanic Garden water lily pool 9-19-22.jpg
  
• John at the railroad garden at CBG 9-19-22.jpg
  
• Before picture of dunes - June 2000.JPG