Obituaries
from: Zeledonia:
Boletin de la Associación
Ornitológica de Costa Rica
Volumen 11, número 2, Noviembre 2007, p. 22
In
memoriam: Jeanne F. Fossani
Las
aves y la AOCR han perdido una gran amiga con el
sensible fallecimiento de Jeanne F. Fossani el 24
de octubre. Jeanne murió en Burlington,
Vermont (EEUU de A) después de una
larga enfermedad. Oriunda de Estados Unidos,
enseñó durante 10 años en la
EARTH. Era socia de la AOCR y dedicó a su
vida a las aves y a su conservacíon, tanto
en Costa Rica como en Estados Unidos y otros
paises. Una amiga la decribió como una
persona “que hacía más vividos los
colores del mundo, amada por mucha gente.” La AOCR
se une a todos aquellos que la echan de menos y
recuerda con agradecimiento su compromiso en favor
de las aves. Como un gesto de estima, se sugiere
que este año se lleven acabo los varios
conteos navideños con nombre de Jeanne
Fossani.
The Valley News
of Burlington, Vermont:
Jeanne Frances Fossani
educator, birder and environmental agitator,
died Oct. 24, 2007
in Burlington, Vermont after a long battle with
breast cancer.
She was born on March 8, 1952, in Newark, N.J. and
attended St. Mary’s Parochial School in Middletown,
N.J. She awoke to her elementary education the day
they began diagramming sentences. A love of
grammar and a fiery independence drew her on to acquire
fluency in French, Italian, Spanish and Greek in her
20’s through her own program of academic study, travel
and work sojourns abroad. Degrees earned were an
Associate in Arts from Brookdale Community College in
1979, a B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa
from New York University in 1982, and a Masters in
education from Rutgers State University of NJ in
1987. She spent two years studying romance
languages at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Experimenting with techniques of
language teaching she settled on methods which did not
exclude structure and grammar but also made use of humor
and a personal touch which greatly endeared her to her
students. These language classes evolved into
class trips to Latin American destinations whereby she
became a popular tour planner and leader.
Born into a family business of
fishing boats, tackle, and sporting goods, Jeanne became
a knowledgeable advocate for marine ecosystems. In
the 70’s she worked out of central New Jersey for
Clean Ocean Action, which single-handedly stopped ocean
dumping by New York City. Her friendship with John
Young of the Tom Brown School of Tracking introduced her
to the world of birds, which was to remain ever her
greatest love. Birding and Spanish took her to the
tropics.
Jeanne folded environmental interests
into her language teaching with finesse. She
spent seven years teaching English to students at EARTH
University in Costa Rica, where she inspired a vivid
interest in the students by incorporating issues of
globalization of Latin America into the language
curriculum. She did not stop with the
students. Seeing the need for better
communication with English speaking tourists, she
created a special class for the guides, formerly
hunters/poachers, hired by the Rainforest Aerial
Tram in Braulio Carillo.
Her travels included 2 years’
teaching in Japan and birding tours to Africa and South
America, with frequent trips to Ecuador, Cuba,
Brazil, Venezuela, Panama and Nicaragua. She led
tours for Community College of Vermont, Vermont
Institute of Natural Science, the North Branch Nature
Center and UVM.
In the last 7 years Jeanne
specialized in issues surrounding the coffee
crisis, incorporating her love of birds with
undying concern about the eradication of tropical
forests by rapacious corporate interests promoted and
funded by the World Bank & International Monetary
Fund.
Unfinished projects included a
language primer oraganized on grammatical principles
with chapters featuring environmental heroes,
“Green English”, and her own little travel company,
“Jeanne’s Java Jaunts”.
She is survived by her sisters,
Rosemarie Greene of Atlantic Highlands, N.J., and
Barbara Weid of Statesboro, Ga.; nephews, nieces,
cousins, and a legacy of devoted friends and students.
Charitable contributions in her name
may be directed to North Branch Nature Center,
Sustainable Harvest Int’l and VINS.
The Tico Tweeter: The
Newsletter of the Birding Club of Costa
Rica
October 2007:
Jeanne F. Fossani: In Memoriam
We are sad to announce that Jeanne
F. Fossani, an important figure in Costa Rican birding
and an early member of the BCCR, passed away October
24th at the age of 55, in Burlington, Vermont, after a
long struggle against cancer.
Jeanne was a formidable defender of
bird habitat in Costa Rica, a pioneer in teaching
observation techniques to Spanish-speaking volunteers,
and an enthusiastic birder whose travels took her to
four continents. A graduate of the Sorbonne and fluent
in four languages, Jeanne had a genuine concern for
others, a wicked sense of humor, and a gift for
energizing the best efforts of those around her. She
maintained an indomitable spirit and a love of life
until the very end. She will be missed by the very many
people who knew and loved her.
One of Jeanne’s priorities was nesting sites for the
Great Green Macaw, whose population in Costa Rica is
estimated to be no more than forty breeding pairs. Her
friends and colleagues adopted in her name an almendro
(wild almond) tree with a nesting pair of Green
Macaws. The Proyecto Lapa Verde at the Centro
Científico Tropical purchases the logging rights
to trees with active Green Macaw nests and holds them in
trust.
See http://www.andreacristina.com/macaw.html
To make a donation, contact Alex Martinez at:
Mailing address: Alex Martinez · Box 13 ·
Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí · Heredia,
· Costa Rica
Email: alex@andreacristina.com
Or phone him in Costa Rica (Alex speaks English) at
766-6265.
Memorial events were held by the Ornithological
Association of Costa Rica and EARTH University.
Peter C. Reynolds