Columbus Audubon is saddened to report that long time Executive Secretary and member, Lois Day, passed away on July 19. Lois was beloved for her passion for birds and for Columbus Audubon, as well as for her ready smile and cheerful voice, by all who met her. She will be greatly missed.
Long-time Columbus Audubon member and former President, Pete Precario, sent the following remembrance:
Lois Day A Remembrance from Pete Precario
With me it began in 1972. I was a young lawyer looking for a job and read an Audubon magazine while waiting for a job interview at a law firm. I didn’t get the job, but I did take the mail-in card and sent it in becoming an Audubon member. A short time later I got a “volunteer card” from Lois asking if I was interested in volunteering for Columbus Audubon. For some reason, I sent it in saying yes. And that was the start of a long friendship both with Lois and with Audubon that has lasted until just a few days ago – when Lois left us.
It’s hard for me to know where to start telling about her. I could talk about her dedication to conservation. I could talk about her many, many hours of work on projects and managing CA business. I could talk about lots of hours of meetings in her basement. The field trips, the Board meetings, the programs, the endless discussions about policy issues and, of course, the fund raising all kept Lois busy and in touch with dozens if not hundreds of people. Everyone knew Lois. She was the face and voice of Columbus Audubon for many years.
I guess, for me, it was mostly bird seed. When we dreamed up the idea of selling seed as a fund raiser sometime in the 70’s, Lois graciously let me be in charge. I soon learned she meant in charge of finding volunteers to unload, one year, about 30,000 pounds of seed from the trucks. She let me be “in charge” for many years. Lois was good at getting people to work – her friend network was vast and so many of them would show up to do things when she called.
I saw, met and talked with her only infrequently in the past few years. Her medical and physical condition kept her indoors, in pain, away from things she liked: hiking, field trips, birding and even just enjoying things. When I did get the opportunity to talk to her I was always amazed to hear the same pleasant voice and laugh, the same interest in issues, the same, positive attitude that she had always had.
I could go on with a million stories (well maybe only a few more) about Lois. But I think this is enough. Suffice it to say that I will miss her and I will miss the possibility of seeing her and hearing her voice one more time.