Obituary: Dr. Michele Buckhorn

May 13, 1968 — February 28, 2019

Michelle Buckhorn

Dr. Michele Leigh Buckhorn, 50, of Placerville, CA passed away on February 28, 2019 surrounded by friends and family in Auburn, CA. She is survived by a multitude of close friends that were her chosen family, her sisters Melissa Calvert and Stacy Cartwright, her brothers Bryan, Steve, and Kenny Buckhorn, and her beloved dog Jasmine.

Michele pursued and achieved her dream of becoming a marine ecologist in 2009 when she received her PhD from the University of California Davis. As well as her studies of reef fish in the Gulf of California, her thesis work provided an outlet for her artistic talents that culminated in the publication of the “Guide to the Marine Fishes of the Gulf of California”. This book includes 150 detailed illustrations of each fish she painstakingly painted. Michele had a longstanding interest in sharks of all kinds and worked on a tracking study of sevengill sharks in San Francisco Bay following her doctoral work. Her passion for the ocean led her to Cordova in 2010 when she accepted a post-doctoral fellowship at the Prince William Sound Science Center to study juvenile herring and pink and chum salmon stocks in the Sound.

For those who could crack her salty exterior, Michele’s heart and her home were open and filled with music, dancing, and delicious food.  Her DJ skills were appreciated far and wide, as well as her appreciation of Mexican cuisine: her posole was legendary. Friends were always singularly delighted to see her arrive with her trademark grease-stained bag of homemade tortilla chips.

An ash scattering memorial will be held at a later time with friends and family at a place special to her in Baja California.

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