Friend of Coyote Gulch, Noelen Doesken, has passed away. Here’s the blurb from CoCoRAHS:
CoCoRaHS Founder, Nolan Doesken (January 1952 – November 2026), passed away peacefully at his home in Fort Collins after a courageous battle with Parkinson’s. His zest for life, kindness, encouraging words, and folksy way of making you feel as if you had known him, even though you may not have met him, will be greatly missed. He wrote the following, which he wanted to share with you when this day arrived.
Dear CoCoRaHS family,
As many of you know, I have been battling Parkinson’s for the past several years, giving it my best shot, but ultimately losing the fight each day, and now the time has come to say goodbye and begin a new journey, as we all will one day. When I came up with the idea for CoCoRaHS back in 1998, I had no idea that this Citizen Science precipitation network would grow to what it is today. I have all of you, our dedicated staff, and many others to thank for making this dream a reality. I am thankful for each and every one of you (66,000+ observers and counting) who, over the years, have taken the time to take a simple measurement and contribute to this vast source of daily precipitation observations. It certainly brings a smile to my face and to many others’. I also hope that you have enjoyed sharing life on our small farm with me through the various “Farm Stories” I have written over the years. May they have brightened your day. My final wishes are that you will keep our network going strong in the years ahead, and that you will feel the wonder I have felt as you monitor our weather and climate. So, for now, I leave you with a short goodbye and look forward to meeting you again one day.
Nolan Doesken
CoCoRaHS Founder
One of my most poignant memories is a conversation I had with Nolan after the High Park Fire west of Fort Collins. He mentioned that he would sometimes receive pushback from influential Coloradans if he mentioned Climate Change, but there it was, in its horrible manifestation, and he was watching in real time from his office at Colorado State University. Another fond memory is a walk around the Yampa River Botanical Garden during a Colorado Water Congress Summer Convention. We talked about our families and forecasting.
Nolan would say, when asked for a forecast, “I predict that this water year somewhere is Colorado will see snow, rain, and drought…I’m a climatologist, not a forecaster, and I look backward in time.”
