Date: 10/12/25 4:03 pm From: 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] The passing of Don Stokes
It is with great sadness that I post the passing of Don Stokes. Don and
Lillian lived in SW New Hampshire in latter years and for a while and I
believe were somewhat regular on Pack Monadnock. I can not add to the
fantastic tribute given to him by his wife Lillian.
Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA
> 10/7/25 - On a beautiful October day, after a
> harvest-full-moon-Great-Horned-Owls-calling night, my beloved
> husband, Don, age 78, died, then a Raven flew over my head. After
> a long 9-year decline, Don died of Lewy Body Dementia in a
> dementia facility he had been in for three plus years. I was with
> him in the afternoon, and even though he was unconscious, I think
> he heard me when I asked for two things: that he wait to die until
> my daughter got there (she did, and my son had visited in the
> morning) and that he send me a Raven, his favorite bird, after he
> died. After I had visited him, I had to run an errand, and my
> daughter, who was with him, then called to say he was gone. I
> drove back, and when I pulled into the parking lot and got out of
> the car, a Raven swooped down, flew low right over my head, and
> landed briefly on a nearby building, and then was gone. Rest in
> peace, Don, may you fly with the Ravens.
>
> You all know him as a loving, kind, humorous, gifted teacher and
> deeply spiritually connected to nature. In place of a formal obit,
> let me tell you some things about Don you may or may not know.
>
> Don was born in Philadelphia into a Quaker family and went to
> Germantown Friends School, then Swarthmore College, majoring in
> Comparative Religions. He was a talented musician who could sing,
> play the piano, and was an excellent tabla hand drum player. He
> even spent time in Calcutta, India, studying with a tabla guru there.
>
> After college, Don moved to Berkeley, California, and in the hills
> kept careful and beautiful journals of the nature he encountered.
> He soon realized he was seeing things that little was known about.
> That planted the seed that later led him to begin writing about
> nature. After returning to Massachusetts, he taught at the
> Warehouse Cooperative School, where he met Bill Phillips, an
> editor at Little, Brown and Company/Hachette, whose daughter
> attended the school. Bill accepted Don's first book, Nature in
> Winter, and went on to become Don's editor for many years.
>
> Don then began teaching at the Massachusetts Audubon Society and
> was in the process of writing a bird behavior guide when he met
> Lillian (already an avid hawk-watcher who came from a background
> in animal behavior and psychiatric social work), who took his
> course on Bird Behavior. As they say, the rest is history. Don and
> Lillian got married and over more than 30 years produced 35 Stokes
> Guides, including 3 volumes on bird behavior (instrumental in
> introducing a holistic approach to birds), backyard books such as
> the Bird Feeder, Hummingbird, and Bluebird books, beginner's
> guides, and the national The Stokes Field Guide to Birds of North
> America. Stokes' books have sold over 6 million copies. Don and
> Lillian produced and hosted the first PBS national television
> series on birds, Birdwatch with Don and Lillian Stokes, as well as
> Stokes Birds at Home, which 40 million viewers saw. They gave
> keynote talks and taught at birding festivals and Audubon
> societies across the country for many years. They were Duck Stamp
> Judges and received a Partners in Flight National Conservation
> Award. Don belonged to many nature and conservation organizations,
> including the Nuttall Ornithological Club.
>
> Befitting his beautiful, spiritual side, Don was a student of
> Haiku poetry, writing it for many years. Here is a fitting example.
>
> Entering the wilds
>
> Equipped to look at nature –
>
> Wait! I am nature.
>
> Don will be buried at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in MA (a famous birding
> hotspot) on Goldfinch Path (how fitting!!). There will be a
> private family Celebration of Life as per his wishes. If you would
> like to do something in remembrance of Don, send a contribution to
> the nature, birding, or conservation organization of your choice.
> Thank you.
>
> Lillian Stokes
>
>
