Jack Stoddart

Jack was a naturalist and a master falconer. He discovered falconry at fifteen and came to befriend falconers throughout the world. Falconry was Jack’s lifelong passion and it was at the center of his closest friendships. He was among the founders of the North American Falconers’ Association as well as the Colorado Hawking Club. He was instrumental in writing and passing laws that the Colorado Division of Wildlife uses to govern birds of prey in captivity. In his early years he spent countless hours riding motorcycles and trucks all over the remote Pawnee National Grasslands of Colorado studying birds of prey. He was an adventurer and wasn’t afraid of a challenge especially in the name of research. Countless stories recall Jack rappelling over cliff walls for research as well as his own falconry pursuits.

Jack was also an artist and craftsman. His contribution to hoodmaking was through his creation and development of his block-and-pattern set of Dutch hood molds. These molds serve as the foundation for some of the finest hoods crafted by today’s renowned hoodmakers.

Known for his love of research, history and writing, Jack contributed to numerous publications. His adventures, discoveries and knowledge of the Pawnee National Grasslands provided not only substance, but also colorful tales to his friend Butch Olendorff’s book Golden Eagle Country. As Jim Nelson worked on his book Hoods, Hooding and Hoodmaking, he and Jack spent hours sharing information, stories and ideas, with Jack ultimately writing the forward. As a friend said: “On rare occasions, in any lasting endeavor, an individual will emerge that elevates the subject at hand. Without doubt, this was Jack Stoddart.”

Jack mentored falconers in the most traditional practices and techniques to train and care for birds of prey. Friends described Jack as a perfectionist, resulting in incredible falconry equipment. He made his own equipment by referencing old falconry books from his vast collection. An ”old school” falconer, Jack was known for the quality of his handmade falconry equipment, especially the craftmanship of his hoods. Given a choice between using bells or telemetry, he would choose bells; he simply preferred the traditions of the old masters.

Jack was remarkable for his ability to build and maintain diverse and lifelong friendships. Many of these friends became extended members of his small family. While in Jack’s presence, one felt special, as if Jack’s focus was only on that person at that moment - which it was. He was a conversationalist known for his wealth of knowledge on many subjects. As one friend said, “Before there was Google, there was Jack.” His knowledge of raptor nesting sites was encyclopedic. Known for his gift of story-telling, he occasionally embellished the exploits not of himself but of others. His story telling also contained instructive or poignant details, and usually resulted in a genuine belly-laugh.

Jack valued devotion to family above all else and always showed up for those he loved. He is survived by his wife Vicky, daughter Kristin Campbell and her husband Terry, grandchildren Karen, Jackie and Lucas Campbell, his sister Jean Miller and her husband Frank, and nephews David, Mike, and Steve Miller.

Jack had an endearing commitment to others and was loyal and strong to his core. He lived by the treatise “The way to be is to do.” Jack’s admonition to the young people in his family was steadfast and regular: “Make a difference.” He did.