Fred Bergener passed away last weekend after a wild water canoe run down the Upper Madawaska River. Fred grew up in Toronto in the Depression paddling Sunnyside cruisers, and spent many years running chase boats for the Dominion Day Regatta. For decades he paddled Ontario's wilderness rivers, and between trips spent his free time working on his wild water technique at popular play spots throughout Ontario and Upper New York. In the winters he was an active back-country skier. He had a great love of the outdoors and a passion for adventure. Fred was always up for just about anything, but took care to look out for his companions. He was rough around the edges, and was great fun to tussle with, but he was a truly kind peron who you would want to have in your corner. In the evenings around the fire he was delightful, with lots of tall tales, some remarkable harmonica playing, and insightful discussions of Ontario's social history. Fred was a warm, wonderful, compassionate person. He was exacerbating and endearing, and taught me a great deal about people and even more about myself. I will miss him, but I am consoled by knowing that he passed away on the shores of one of his favorite rivers after a day spent doing what he loved best. He was a remarkable person who led a remarkable life, and who died with his boots on as he would have wished. Here's to you, Fred. Richard Culpeper *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:32:49 PDT