A man whom many people referred to as the “Bee Guy of Encinitas” because of his passionate advocacy for pollinators has died.
“With a heavy heart, I’m sad to share that James Conor McDonald, my older brother by three years, passed away on Monday eve,” his brother Bryan McDonald recently posted on a Facebook page. “When I first heard the news, I was in total disbelief and had to hear the reports from the Sheriff and paramedics who tried to resuscitate him without success, before it started to sink in that he really could have passed…”
McDonald died May 13, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Friday.
The owner of the Encinitas Bee Company, McDonald was a force for change in the treatment of bees in Encinitas. He successfully campaigned for Encinitas to become a Bee City USA; helped city officials craft an urban agriculture ordinance that allowed bee keeping in residential neighborhoods; and got the city to stop using the bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides in its parks and other public spaces.
On Wednesday, the City Council adjourned its meeting in his honor.
As he announced that dedication, Mayor Tony Kranz called McDonald “a friend of ours” and noted that he had appeared at the City Hall’s public speakers’ podium “many, many times” to advocate for pollinators. He also often brought a portable bee hive to outdoor community education events.
“He had a tremendous sense of humor and he was full of love and full of life,” the mayor said.
Kranz, who is a residential beekeeper himself, said that McDonald’s assistance in creating the city’s urban agriculture ordinance in 2016 was invaluable. At those public meetings, McDonald stressed that there would be no negative effects from the ordinance, which allows beekeeping in residential areas, and “he was right,” the mayor said.
“He’s been a valuable ally to all of us,” said Councilmember Joy Lyndes, a landscape architect who first met McDonald when he helped remove a hive in an irrigation box at the former Pacific View School property.
Councilmember Kellie Hinze said she had some rather colorful stories about McDonald, but would share them privately one-on-one, rather than in a public meeting. He definitely can be credited, she said, with getting Encinitas its Bee City USA designation — “that was totally his idea” — and making sure the city didn’t use insecticides to fight its palm weevil infestation.
“When I think of this chamber full of people, it’s not going to be the same without him,” she added.
Councilmember Bruce Ehlers also mentioned McDonald’s unconventional nature. McDonald once removed a hive on his property, Ehlers said, and “he put me in a bee suit and had me help.”
On his company website, McDonald described himself thus: “Majored in Biology @ U.C.S.D. Grew palm trees for 15 years, Trained show jumpers in Co. kerry Ireland for 20 years, and now I rescue bees.”
In his online tribute, his brother referred to him as a “waterman, hell man, wild man” and “a gifted natural athlete, accomplished surfer, diver, water skier, skateboarder, horseman, snow skier, motocrosser, bare knuckle boxer (in Tijuana, no less) and all-around adventurer.”
He was a “true guy’s guy (and a ladies’ man when he wanted to be),” and he was “always on, burning the candle at both ends,” his brother continued.
His family is planning a celebration of life, in the style of an Irish wake, at 11 a.m. on June 22 at Calvary Chapel, 1739 S. Melrose Drive, Carlsbad, followed by a late afternoon paddle out from one of his favorite breaks, Seaside, his brother wrote.
“All are welcome” to come share stories and songs, his brother added in the notice.
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune .
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