Richard Nordli

Richard was a talented, creative, compassionate and caring soul.  He was an accomplished cabinetry and stained glass craftsman.  Early in life Richard found the excitement, exhilaration and trill of skydiving, performing and instructing others in over 22,000 jumps.  Richard was born in LA and lived with his family in Pasadena while his father worked as an artist at the Walt Disney Studios on many of Disney’s classic animated movies.  Richard’s mother was an accomplished ballerina, fine artist and a talented pianist.  The family moved to Carpinteria when Richard was just a youngster where he enjoyed the lifestyle of a small beach community.  Richard lived for a number of years in Connecticut and for a short time on a sailboat in the Virgin Islands.  Richard moved back to California and settled in Berkeley for a few years where he became an ordained minister in order to open and operate a non-profit thrift store on Haight Ashbury .  Eventually he moved to Santa Barbara and lived at his family compound in Mission Canyon for the past 30 years.  While in Mission Canyon Richard discovered Eyes-In-The-Sky(EITS) on one of his many walks to the SB Museum of Natural History.  EITS, a raptor education program under the SB Audubon, where volunteers present non-releasable birds of prey to the public.  Richard immediately fell in love with the program and became a committed volunteer where he handled and presented many of the program’s birds for the last 12 years.

Richard leaves behind a lasting legacy of a love for the natural world.  He will be sorely missed by his adopted EITS family as well as all that knew him.

We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation and thanks to the doctors and staff of the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, members of Hospice of Santa Barbara, the doctors and support staff of Cottage Hospital SICU and the nurses and staff of Serenity House.

For those wishing to honor Richard, donations in Richard’s name can be sent to SB Audubon Society/EITS.

A celebration of life in honor of our dear friend will be held at a future date.

Rest in Peace my friend. Go fly free with your birds.