Class of 1973 Bios A to F

I have recently re located to Costa Rica for the remainder of my life and really enjoying it.Drove down alone(with 3 dogs)from Calif. last year and it was an adventure to be sure.6 countries in 15 days and 5,000 klms.I moved with me some 40 birds to start a new breeding farm there.The name is "Ave Azul de la Osa".
I can be reached via my African Safari website..SerengetiPhotoSafaris.com or by snail mail..APDO 82-8203 Puerto Jimenez,Osa Peninsula Costa Rica.Come visit!
3/26/10

Patrick Dunn (from his serengetiphotosafaris.com website):
   Your host and guide, Patrick Dunn was born in Sacramento, California in 1955. He has been an active member of the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) since 1978. At the 1979 AFA convention in Las Vegas, Nevada he was fortunate to have met Mr. Robert J. Berry, Curator of Ornithology from the Houston Zoo. It was through this timely meeting that Patrick applied for and was offered a position with the Zoological Gardens where he worked in the Tropical Birdhouse for two years. He learned about ornithology in its purest form from Mr. Berry. Today, they still remain close friends and Patrick looks to him for the most elusive answers to avicultural questions.
   Late 1981, Patrick was hired by the Miami Metrozoo to remove and transport all the bird specimens at Crandon Park Zoo to the new Metrozoo. This turned into a seven month tenure moving from a 30-acre zoo on Dinner Key to a 650- acre zoo outside of Homestead, Florida.
   Subsequently, Patrick was employed with CampTel Ventures, an outdoor adventure company. He led birdwatching tours throughout southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica for six months until hurricane season began. After all his travels, Costa Rica today remains his favorite birding destination.
   With birds from Texas and Florida, Patrick moved to the island of Kauai in late 1982, where he started a bird farm which eventually grew into the largest avicultural facility in Hawaii, Parrot Jungle of Kauai. Patrick imported everything that the state would allow. On numerous occasions, he actively testified to allow the entry of many more species as he believed Hawaii is blessed with an environment that could really be beneficial to aviculture. Over the next ten years, he supplied hotels on five islands with birds and animals in creative interactive exhibits with very lush tropical themes for the tourist's enjoyment.
   In 1987, Patrick was approached by a resort developer to design and direct construction of a zoo, Kauai's first zoo, part of a $600,000,000 resort complex. By the time it was finished, Patrick had stocked, staffed and directed the zoo at a cost of more than $80,000,000. His task included designing a quarantine facility for incoming hoof-stock, birds and primates as well as two complete commissaries at opposite ends of a 50-acre lagoon. More than 60 species of birds and animals were exhibited on seven naturally landscaped islands with no bars or cages.
   Additionally, he procured all the zoological specimens, and searched the mainland for nearly a year buying and shipping animals to Kauai. It was an all consuming task that was completed with animals on exhibit within two years.
   Kauai Zoological Gardens was in operation for nearly eight years. During that time, Patrick managed to breed every species that was paired including three species of endangered Hawaiian birds to multiple generations. The zoo however, was destroyed by a large hurricane in 1992. Under private direction, he reopened the zoo for three additional years. Due to a fragile island economy, the Japanese property owners decided against its continuance. After surviving two hurricanes in nearly fifteen years, he decided it was time to move to the mainland where he purchased three acres in northern California and moved all of his stock out of Hawaii.
   Since 1983, Patrick has been guiding bird watching trips to various parts of the world, adding Africa to his itinerary five years ago. He keeps a "life list" of birds which now totals over 3,400 species. In addition, he has been collecting insects since he was five years old and holds a collection of about 10,000 specimens. Patrick was a member of the Kauai film commission for 10 years and supplied birds, animals and other natural history props to the industry for use in videos, television commercials and motion pictures such as "Outbreak" and "Jurassic Park". He is a scuba diver with advanced open water, search and rescue, underwater navigation and dive master certifications. He is also an accomplished Taxidermist.
7/28/03

By most accounts, Michael Fenton was a predictable man, a homebody when not working long hours at the job he loved.

The beach at Sand Cove Park off Garden Highway in Sacramento was Fenton's sanctuary from life's stresses. He went there when he wanted "to gather his thoughts and peace," said his stepdaughter, Stephanie Kyler.

That's where they told police to look for him when he didn't come home Aug. 7, a Friday night.

He remained missing until boaters spotted a man floating in the river three days later. Officials identified the body as Fenton, 54, the next day. The cause of his death remains a mystery.

"I think he probably went there to sit and get his thoughts," said Fenton's wife of 21 years, Paula Fenton.

Medical examiners haven't determined a cause of death. Police suspect it was an accident or suicide. His family can't imagine that the long-time engineer with the state's Office of Technology Services would take his own life.

Stephanie Kyler, whom Fenton helped raise since she was 2, was the last in the family to speak to him.

Kyler, 25, called home around 4 p.m. to tell her stepfather, who was home on furlough Friday, that she'd be home late from work.

"He said 'OK, I'll see you when you get home,' " Kyler said. "I came home and he was gone. He wasn't here."

Paula Fenton called police around 2 a.m.

"We waited and after he didn't come home, I kind of knew something was wrong," Paula Fenton said.

Her husband was predictable, she said.

He liked Mexican food and Frank Zappa – but "not the new stuff," Paula said. "He liked to watch TV, like CSI and all those nerdy shows. He's a techno-geek, but he's a sweetie."

Fenton's office was packed with books about "wiring and cabling and anything to do with optical networks," said Diane Williams, his work supervisor.

Fenton had worked for state government since 1985, starting as a custodian at the Capitol, family members said, and eventually working his way into a role as telecommunications engineer.

His colleagues said he had an uncanny technical ability. He was an expert on the network of fiber cables under downtown Sacramento that connect all state government buildings.

"He always ate a bear claw for breakfast with coffee," said Renato Peruzzi, who worked with Fenton for some 20 years. "He always had corn chips for lunch with whatever else he was eating."

But what emerged from interviews is that he struggled with depression. Friends and family members said he didn't deal well with stress.

He supported a big family. He lived near Garden Highway with his wife, Paula; daughter Patricia, 14; stepdaughter Stephanie; Stephanie's three children, Hailey, 6, Matthew, 2, and 1-year-old Nicole; and Stephanie's boyfriend, Nick Craven.

Paula Fenton, a retired nurse, has multiple sclerosis and can't work. Furloughed workdays made paying all bills nearly impossible, she said.

Despite this stress, his family believes his death was an accident. Fenton never learned how to swim and had a terrible phobia of water.

But Fenton was a private man. His home computers were guarded with passwords the family is now trying to crack. He shied away from being photographed, leaving loved ones with too few images to hold dear.

Like big pieces of his life, his final moments were private. The cause of his death remains a mystery.

Convinced there was no foul play, police said they have left the ultimate ruling to the county coroner.

Call The Bee's Julie Johnson, (916) 321-5287.