I am so sad to hear about Kevin. The last time I saw him, we shared a
scope and a wondrous view of the snowy owl at Discovery Park. Then we
hiked around talking about - what else? - nature. Kevin was one of the
most generous-spirited, truly kind people I've ever known. In his quiet
way, he made this world a better place and our birding community a
stronger one. When the purple martins come back this spring to the houses
that Kevin built, they will thrill and delight all who see them. We owe
Kevin our deepest gratitude for making that possible. - Connie

> I first met Kevin Li when we were both attending the University of
> Washington
> College of Fisheries. We became friends while on extended field outings
> with
> an Invertebrate Zoology class. We've been in contact off and on over the
> years
> since college and I've always appreciated how Kevin maintained contact
> with
> his friends and took special effort to find out what people were doing. He
> had a keen interest in people as well as wildlife. I think Dennis
> Paulson's
> comments characterize Kevin extremely well.
>
> Kevin and I hiked into Castle Mountain two summers ago and did some
> Mountain
> Goat census work. I really enjoyed spending some time with him and
> catching
> up on lots of news of those we both knew. I'm going to miss him. It's very
> hard to think that I won't see him again.
>
> Kelly McAllister
> Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
> Olympia, Washington
> Reply to: mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov
>
> On Mon, 30 Jan 2006, Dennis Paulson wrote:
>
>> Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 11:16:39 -0800
>> From: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net>
>> To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
>> Subject: [Tweeters] very sad news
>>
>> Hello, tweeters.
>>
>> I've been asked to convey this news to the birding world.
>>
>> Yesterday Kevin Li passed away. He was scuba diving in Puget Sound
>> and may have had a heart attack. He and Kris had just returned from
>> Hawaii, where they did a lot of snorkeling, and Kevin wanted to try
>> diving again after a 20-year hiatus.
>>
>> Kevin pushed himself as hard as anyone I know, active outside
>> throughout the year in skiing and bicycling and kayaking and hiking
>> and windsurfing, and he always had a minor injury somewhere to attest
>> to those activities, but it never stopped him. He lived a good life.
>> More important, he was in every way a good person, as easy-going and
>> helpful as a friend as he was intense and focused on his interests.
>> While the rest of us were out there being edified by birds, Kevin
>> found a way he could return the favor. He was best known to most of
>> us through his unflagging efforts to provide nest boxes for Purple
>> Martins to get them to return to this region. He had help from many
>> others, but I think Kevin, by his enthusiasm and many hours of hard
>> work, can be single-handedly credited for turning around the decline
>> of that charismatic species.
>>
>> His life should be an inspiration to all of us to give back to nature
>> just as it gives so much to us.
>>
>> All of us who knew him will really miss Kevin, and the world will
>> miss him too.
>>
>> Dennis Paulson
>>
>> P. S. No further details are available at this time.
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
>> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters
>>
>
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