I was so sorry to hear about James (I knew him as Conrad)'s passing as someone with such zest for life and passion for nature is not the person one expects to suddenly depart. Very shocking. I only have memories of Conrad when he was very little boy. One of our family favorites is when he came over to play at our house one day. At about 10am in the morning he said wanted to have ice cream. My mom (his Aunt Janet at the time) did not allow ice cream in the morning. Conrad did not take her "no" for an answer and decided to go for the freezer. She stopped him and said, "Conrad feel this," as she flexed her arm muscle...He felt it and said with big eyes, "Are you even stronger than my daddy?" (My mom was quite an athlete and strong). He then decided he would not go for the ice cream... Looking at the incredibly strong muscular man he became, I wonder if he wanted to be sure that type of situation never happened again :)!!! Actually, I am so sad that I never got to know him as an adult. His love for horses and dogs and wild creatures would have made us instant friends, and my dear mom, who has passed away, would have applauded all of those pursuits as she was one of the greatest animal, nature, and wildlife advocates I know.  My deep condolences to all his many friends and close family. 

James, 

You were kind, daring, adventurous, bold, generous and fun. There really aren't enough adjectives to encompass all the ways you enriched the lives of those around you. So sorry for your family. It was great to see the boys and reminisce about skating with them a bit. Your brother Bryan did an amazing job of MC-ing. I probably made no sense up there but it was so nice of him to let me ramble on a bit and I loved hearing all the epic stories about you from far and wide. So many of the stories seemed far-fetched and I wouldn't have believed many of them had I not known you a bit myself. I remember when you gave me many jars of honey, always refusing to take money. And then when I was bragging that I had a green thumb, you gave me two pot plants which I named Fatty and Skinny. I got to gloat a bit when they both thrived and produced a bumper crop. I got lots of seeds from Fatty but misplaced them somewhere when I moved. I hope that I will stumble on them one of these days and then I'll plant their offspring and think of all the fun times we had doing crazy stuff--especially considering were no longer "Spring Chickens." I think your gift was that you made everyone around you feel like a kid again. It sounds trite but I think the world will really never be the same. I hope the surf's up, the skate park is always open and the dog park is never "closed for maintenance." Til we meet again--and in the meantime I promise to live "con Rad," just like one of your funny friends implored.

We met James "The Bee Man" at the Power Lines Dog Park (Encinitas) many years ago. 

We have owned 4 rescue dogs since year 2000, and we were at that dog park at least two times per day, and James often was there too, and bees and honey were a frequent topic of conversation, in part because we are big supporters of environmental & animal protections, including native plants and pollinators.

Three days before Christmas in 2023, we ended up with an unexpected 5th rescue dog, Lacey (a free range, wild caught, fully organic, 8 month old, Belgian Malinois puppy), so we were facing a totally new dog experience of crazy, unbridled, exuberant energy, the likes of which we had never encountered before (sounds a bit like James for much of his life, eh?).

James was such a great dog person, and he told us stories about his (and his family's) training efforts with their Belgian Malinois rescue dog, Daisy, who had been a challenging handful for them, but who had steadily turned into a wonderful family dog after much effort and patience, more than most people would give to any dog.

James often parked near our house (near the south entrance of the Power Lines dog park), and he saw us on several occasions in our front yard (under the shade of our native Engelmann and Valley Oaks) working with Lacey in an effort to overcome her extreme fear of strangers who dared to walk on the sidewalk or park in the street. James kindly offered to sit several feet away from Lacey while she barked like crazy, and, after awhile, James laid on his side and slid slowly towards her as her hackles went higher (Lacey’s hackles, not ours), and her barking got more frenzied as he slithered closer, but James was so cool and calm and showed absolutely no fear as he inched within a foot of Lacey while radiating a kind expression on his face and cooing soothing sounds, and, soon after, he was able to get Lacey to take food from his hand (from a stranger no less!), which was a first for Lacey. I think even she was surprised by James clever tactics, a worthy match for a Malinois!

James continued to offer many suggestions to help Lacey chill out and respond to commands better, including training videos that he found helpful in training Daisy.

James would stop by and watch our progress and listen to our stories (battles?) of feeling a bit (a lot?) haggard due to Lacey’s endless energy and non-stop antics of stealing cloths, shoes, hats, anything not nailed down, raiding our dinner plates as we tried to eat in defense mode, and her jumping up on us too often. He suggested a play toy that his dog, Daisy, loved, the “Jolly Ball”, a nearly indestructible, hard, plastic ball about 6 inches in diameter (take this info down if you have an energetic dog and want to spare yourself some stress). We bought that Jolly ball the same day and have thanked James ever since. Lacey loved that red ball and kicked and chased it around all the time, thus diverting her attention into less destructive, less annoying behaviors. She would exhaust herself and sleep well, at least for awhile, and we recovered our sanity.

Our Lacey has made great strides this year in her behaviors, and we were hoping to see James and invite him to play ball with Lacey and for Lacey to play with Daisy. We were so heart sick when we heard the news. We feel a great loss of a kind person whom we wish we had known even better. It’s rare to meet someone who can talk on many interesting topics and also cares about the environment, all animals, and people too.

Sometimes you meet lovely people and only have time to get to know a little bit about them, but even if you knew only a small slice of James, every slice was a really big slice.

James was so full of life that his own self could not contain it all, and he shared that life force with those he met, and he reached out to offer his enthusiasm to others.

James had a force field (an aura), that was powerful, colorful, and welcoming, with a hint of something akin to mischief hiding just beneath the surface.

He was an optimist who knew how to share his knowledge with others, including a refreshing kindness towards nature and other species, small and large, wild or domestic, and a willingness to see the best in people, friend or stranger, and that’s not always easy to do.

We were lucky to have known James, and we will keep him in our hearts and minds when we hug and play with Lacey, and when we continue our efforts to save and preserve wild habitats and animals (wild and domestic), including native plants and pollinators...because without those plants, pollinators, soil fungi, and all the large and tiny species, which are foundational keystone species, most of life (especially on land) would not exist, and James would agree that when you see a tree, a bee, a bug, a lizard, or a bat, or take a handful of soil filled with tiny life forms, give them all a huge thank you for making our lives possible and better, and take a deep breath of oxygen that came from those plants, and savor a bite of an apple that pollinators helped create because fruit hanging from nature's bounty should not be forbidden, but enjoyed.

The universe is so huge, with vast numbers of galaxies and planets, but the truth is that life (and planets that can support life) are extremely rare and hard to find, and biodiversity in abundance is an incredibly rare event that can happen only on a tiny portion of lucky planets in the known universe, and Earth is one of those incredibly rare gems. I think James felt that deeply and knew how important it was to know, respect, and preserve nature and, importantly, to steward and nurture nature back to health because, if we don’t, we ain’t a goin’ no where else because the distances in space are just too far, and space ships can never be large enough to hold large numbers of earth’s people nor go fast enough to get us to another habitable planet, and, let’s face it, the TSA lines for large scale space travel would be too long for most of us to suffer with our limited patience. So this Earth is our home, and it’s a darn great one at that.

Hug the earth, your friends & family, and your pets, and share kindness whenever you can, as James did by word and example.

Thanks, James, for being a friend and a kind person.

I hope there’s many bee hives and honey for you on the other side.

From your dog park friends, Tom Gasaway & Julie Fisher (and Lacey dog).

I’ve been reflecting on the times that I knew Conrad when we were much younger and all the fun stuff we did. I will miss seeing him from time to time at Swamis and enjoying the honey 🍯 that he produced. It is still hard to believe he has passed and the memories we all shared seem to come to life more now than ever before. God bless his soul. My condolences to family and friends. 

John Frazier 

Sending love and heartfelt condolences to the family.  I only knew James (then Conrad) for two years when he was 12 and 13, but I have such vivid  memories of such a bold personality!   My favorite was of riding horseback with James all over Mackinac Island as teenagers....  so grateful to have known him and his family.     Diane Santas (Chris's sister)

https://vimeo.com/343373479">https://vimeo.com/343373479

Ever-Generous James Leads a Full Moon Ride

Still at a loss for words.   My heart goes out to family, friends and all who knew and loved him.  Holding tight to many vibrant and happy memories of times spent with James in McGregor Bay.  You will be greatly missed.  RIP James

Mona Frecker Miller

So very sorry for the loss of James to all his family and friends, lots of love from very close friends from Listowel we will sadly miss him 💜

Heartfelt condolences to the McDonald family on the loss of James who graced our world in countless ways, touching souls eternally and leaving lasting memories of love.

I was fortunate to have known James. I cared for him as his nurse on a number of occasions. We were friends for many years, I’ll miss him. 

He was much more sensitive than many people saw. Not the wild and crazy guy most saw. He loved to have fun! 

H e led quite a life, I first met him in Ireland when I was staying at his mother’s home. He mapped out a tour of the area for us to visit. Took us to his house and introduced us to all the horses in the stables! 

He loved to have fun! He was very generous! Ever the gentleman who truly loved his mother and many others! 

May he rest well in the arms of the Lord!

My condolences to the family and the loved ones and his friends.

I was sorry to hear about James (Conrad)'s passing. He was a childhood friend and a charismatic and adventurous soul. Conrad’s spirit had huge implications on my childhood - mostly we would get in trouble but somehow it would turn out well. From adventures in Canada, Mexico and cross country travel to the time as children we played war with the caretaker in Mexico where we set up bunkers on the beach and shot bottle rockets and threw M80s back and forth. Two 10 year olds versus the former military manny - laughing until an m80 came down and Conrad caught it in his hand. Somehow he even shook that off despite the pain. Another time we took a case of Vodka (from George’s exclusive stash) into the water structure in the middle of the driveway and through it against the wall then lit 🔥 it up - unfortunately we didn’t think about the wall and blocked the exit forcing us to run through the fire to climb out - lots of minor burns but even more fun then we imagined. Many other easy & challenging adventures. He was fun and physically gifted - I admired him. While I haven’t seen him for 50 years, I’m glad he found his path through adventure and to environmental advocacy. Love to his family and friends. RIP Conrad.