Birdie Monk Holsclaw

Birdie Monk Holsclaw, CG, FUGA, is a genealogical researcher, writer, lecturer, editor, and winner of 2003 NGS Family History Writing Contest. She has served as a board or committee chair for the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Federation of Genealogical Societies, an indexer of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, and member of GENTECH's Lexicon Working Group (1996'1999). She lectures at numerous national and regional conferences. Her current major research project is compiling family histories for earliest students at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, all children of Colorado pioneer families.

May 13, 2010 Birdie Holsclaw, R.I.P.

Sad news, indeed. The genealogy community has lost one of its most popular and active members. The following was written by Birdie Holsclaw's family: Birdie Monk Holsclaw passed away at about 5:02 pm this afternoon, very quietly and peacefully, surrounded by her family.

She was first admitted to Boulder Community Hospital's emergency room very early on Monday morning after we were unable to wake her in bed. She was moved later that evening to the Foothills facility, to be treated for liver failure which caused a massive increase in ammonia in her blood. Her final hours were very quiet and peaceful. We understand that she felt little to no pain, in part due to the ammonia in her blood, which acted as a sedative and anaesthetic. She was also given morphine and Ativan, but these were in small amounts, just to keep her relaxed.

In the intervening days, she had intermittent periods of consciousness, and during these times she was made aware of all the prayers and loving support pouring in from all over. She had difficulty speaking much, but these messages always made her smile and she was quick to say "I Love You" in response to them. To all of you out there, we want you to know how precious you all were to her, right to the end, and how much comfort you gave her, even sometimes from a great distance.

We are already making preliminary plans for a memorial service. Her body will be cremated at Crist Mortuary here in Boulder. As these things crystallize we will make firmer announcements. For now, it is most important for us to convey our gratitude and love to all of Birdie's friends and colleagues who have shown her and us so much support during these past few days.

Thank you all so much,

Will Holsclaw, Russ Holsclaw & The Monk Family