To the editor:
Reading of Mary Jo McConnell’s death in last week’s Current was devastating, especially as I had just had dinner with her a month or so ago. Her obituary related a great deal about her, but there was so much more to tell. Mary Jo McConnell was by turns brilliant, talented beyond words in so many areas, scientifically curious, a mesmerizing storyteller, a fascinating conversationalist and a most extraordinary human being.
With the blessing of the Smithsonian’s secretary, S. Dillon Ripley, she spent over 20 years traveling to a remote and inaccessible area of Papua, New Guinea’s cloud forest where the Soughb tribal people helped her find the rare and elusive wild bower birds and document their habits and nest-building artistry. Her paintings depicted the birds and their habitat, something scientists knew nothing about for they were banned from entering the country.
As an artist, Mary Jo was able to do what they couldn’t, relaying her observations to grateful scientists at Harvard and the Smithsonian, and bringing back valuable samples for study.
As a recognized naturalist, she had permission to bring rare and environmentally threatened birds of all kinds back from her travels, and this she did, breeding them and studying their habits at her home in Marblehead, many of them housed in room-sized cages. Giant macaws that talked; a symphony of parrot cries; the deep booms, roars, hoots and
cackles of her silvery-cheeked hornbill; and the sweet trilling of canaries and various finches, were the backdrop symphony to any visit with Mary Jo. At one time she had close to 50; needless to say, it was difficult finding a house sitter when she went away!
Working with the natives, she convinced them to stop seeing her beloved bower birds as food, but rather as a source of low-impact eco tourism for naturalists and bird watchers. Oh, and along the way, she developed a project to bring clean water to Hungku.
There are too few people like Mary Jo, and I already miss her greatly.
Margo W. R. Steiner
Washington Street
