I met Jean and Pat on my very first bird walk for NYBG. He was very tall and she was very short. They made a striking couple. It was  September 1985. I believe it was a Tuesday or Friday and the garden had commissioned me to do a walk to see if they could attract local birders.  Jean and Pat were local birders who were garden members and so they met me by the Watson Building and we started birding. I don't remember what we saw that day, but I'm pretty sure it was Louis, the original great horned owl, in addition to the warblers and flycatchers migrating through. I was surprised at how much they knew about birding. It wasn't the popular hobby it is today. I'm not sure how interested Pat was in the birds, but he loved Jean and accompanied us listening to the bird chatter. They came to every bird walk for almost 25 years. In that time they had two beautiful grandchildren and I had a son. Our kids played together and came on the bird walk. They ran through the fields of flowers, fed the chickadees from their hands, marveled at the owls and threw sticks, crabapples and rocks at each other and into every stream or pond they could find. It was enjoyable to watch them interacting as we walked looking for birds. Pat and Jean became like grandparents to Zach and very good friends to me and my family. They consoled me when my mom died and were there to support me as I raised my child. Jean is philosophical and wise in literary matters and historical quotes. Pat was her support and good humor man. He was a pillar of strength, niceness, humanity and love. We shared our lives while we birded. Pat died this past April. He was almost 90. He died at the beginning of one of the best spring migrations in memory. I would like to think it was his spirit that guided all the beautiful warblers to NYBG. Jean is a bit too fragile to come to the bird walks, these days. She is still a deep thinker, a comforting and kind soul and she knows her birds and trees. 
As I begin the 30th season of leading bird walks for NYBG, in September,  I will think of a tall man with a short woman who were always there to greet me, every bird walk, and all the wonderful memories we shared.