On May 19, the bird world lost a very special person with the passing of Smiles Germeau. Smiles—the classical “white-haired grandmom.” Although born with the given name LaDemah, “Smiles” was the perfect nickname, as she always seemed to have a tranquil, Mona-Lisa-like smile on her face, and she brought smiles to everyone around her.

Although her beloved husband John (to whom she was married for 58 yrs) and the rest of her extended family were her most important loves in life, her birds were not far behind—she bred lovebirds, cockatiels, Amazons, caiques, budgies, and African Greys and others, and each was treated with the very best of care, love, and respect. Smiles belonged to many bird-related organizations and was the President of the Brotogeris Society International.

Her love of birds was more than an important fact of her life; it is emblematic of her entire life. For just as she brought into the world an extended family of people, so was she—as breeder and surrogate Mom—responsible for bringing many baby birds into the world, and watching them grow like her own children. And just as she wholeheartedly loved her family, and treated her friends with caring and respect, so did she treat her birds—loving them, caring for them, treating each little life with respect. She indeed had a “Reverence for All Life”; Albert Schweitzer would have liked her.

When ever a bird on the outside needed a home, or a bird-keeper needed to partake of Smiles’ experience and knowledge, she gave of herself in both circumstances, like a Mother protecting and fostering a needy child, or mentoring a colleague. She gave of herself freely and taught much to me, and to many other parrot-keepers. I contacted Smiles many times to ask her advise concerning the best care of parrots—her answers were always both knowledgeable and compassionate. She taught young veterinary students who came to her house, and frequently fostered and found homes for needy parrots.

The last e-mail which I received from her, before she entered the hospital, exemplified her generosity:

“I miss hearing from you. What are you up to these days? If you have time and the inclination, come on and visit. You haven't seen my Green Wing Macaw. A year old Jan. 2008. We still have too many birds but they need us.” Typical Smiles: the needs of the birds took precedence over her own.

But Smiles was also an intensely proud and principled person. If someone violated her strong sense of ethics, they often met with Smiles’ wrath—for Smiles was also a “ tough cookie” when needed, as was seen also in her fight during her last month in the hospital. Doing RIGHT was more important to her than doing the easy or popular thing. In the last years of her life, Smile took a firm stand on several occasions in manners concerning the most humane ways to breed birds. Some of her views met with a cool and at times hostile response from some of her friends and co-breeders, and those comments and actions hurt her deeply. But she never wavered in standing up for what she believed was ‘the right thing to do.’ Smiles may have been gentle, but when it came to sticking to her principles, she was tough and unwavering.

But mostly she had smiles for people, along with a wonderful sense of humor. I suspect that when she reached Heaven, she would have been greeted by a welcoming Angel at the pearly gates who would have said, “Smiles, let me show you to your heavenly accommodations.”

And Smiles might replied: “I have birds; shouldn’t I go into quarantine first?”

Kind, compassionate, gentle, knowledgeable, respected , courageous, and beloved—those are words which describe Smiles Germeau. Her legacy includes teaching us all to be the best we can be. She was a person to emulate .Knowing her made all of us who knew her—and many birds—the better and happier for it. Smile, we all will miss you. We wish you peace.

Stewart Metz
May 21, 2008