Obits Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

Remembering Circle of Chiefs recipient Robert (Bob) Lindholm

OWAA Developer — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 18:10:51 +0000

By Joel Vance

OWAA’s Circle of Chiefs lost a member April 16, with the death of Robert (Bob) Lindholm, 82, of Lindsborg Kansas. He had retired to the small Kansas town after his retirement in 1993 as a Missouri assistant attorney general under two respected attorneys general— John Danforth, who became a United States Senator, and Jay Nixon, who became Missouri’s governor.

Bob was the point man in environmental litigation for both of his bosses, one a Republican, one a Democrat. He had been a member of the Circle of Chiefs since 2007, and he made his mark in outdoor communication through his photographic lens, favoring the landscape photography, large-scale and black-and-white in the manner of his hero, Ansel Adams.

Lindholm collaborated on a book celebrating the travels of pioneer artist Karl Bodmer which was issued by the University of Oklahoma Press in 2013. He also was the photographer for William Least Heat Moon’s book, River Horse, a trip across the waterways of the United States in a small boat, which today is housed in its own building at the Boone County Historical Society in Columbia.

The Bodmer book was honored by the national Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, and Lindholm also was honored by the Sierra Club with its annual Ansel Adams award which “honors superlative photography that has been used to further conservation causes.”

Perhaps his most notable achievement for Missouri, was his legal work toward the establishment of the 200 mile long MKT trail, known as the Katy, the nation’s longest rails-to-trails conversion, which has become a heavily used hiking and biking trail extending from near St. Louis to western Missouri. It extends past a number of small towns which have become revitalized thanks to tourism from bikers and hikers on the trail. Bob also was a counsel for the Department of Natural Resources and the state’s Clean Water Commission where he wrote legislation toward the protection of the state’s water resources (his license plate was SAV H2O).

Bob was a native of St. Louis and has been recognized as a distinguished alumnus of Webster Groves high school. He earned a degree in radio and television production from the University of Missouri where he also received a law degree in 1964—and where he also was named a distinguished alumnus. He was a Marine Corps veteran and there was an honorary military service in Kansas City as part of his funeral ceremony.

An exhibit of his photos traveled to 24 National Park sites and he produced duplicate exhibits for President Jimmy Carter and for the United State’s Congress. He illustrated the 1985 Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute report, and was active in the Nature Conservancy which sponsored a St. Louis exhibit of his photography in 1991.

Lindholm told the Missouri Conservationist magazine that outdoor photography has two aims, “One is pointing up the beauty of things we need to save, and the second is pointing out the problems we’ve created.” In the manner of Ansel Adams, he did his own darkroom work and was known to spend a day perfecting a single print. He wrote in the March, 1988, issue of Photographic magazine, “As photographers we are privileged to be able to capture some of the beauty of this earth. In passing it along to others we will have given a bit to this world from which we take so much.”

Bob is survived by his wife, Joyce, daughters, Christina Lisa, and Kristin and 10 grandchildren. The family asked that any donations in his honor be made to the Katy Trail State Park or The Nature Conservancy.

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OWAA past president Sheila Link died March 30, 2018

OWAA Developer — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 18:04:38 +0000

Sheila Link, OWAA’s first woman president, died March 30, just a few months short of her 95th birthday.
Sheila joined OWAA in May 1968. She served on the board of directors 1973-1976 and as president 1981-1982.
Sheila grew up in Southern California, but in a family that wasn’t outdoorsy. In a biography written for OWAA, Sheila describes how her parents refused to let her have a gun, but at 9, she ‘cadged shots’ from her playmate’s BB gun and .22 rifles and fell in love with the smell of gunpowder and the roar of discharge.
Despite her parents’ lack of interest in the outdoors or outdoor activities, she spent a lifetime shooting, camping, canoeing and hunting throughout North America, Africa and South America. She shared her passion for outdoor sports through her writing and teaching.
Sheila majored in music at the University of California and later played string bass with the San Francisco Civic Symphony. She married Frederic Link in 1945 and continued to play music while she raised her four children.
Her love of the outdoors, however, led to what became a long career in writing. She started with writing a weekly newspaper column on camping. She swiftly branched out and freelanced articles for major national publications such as Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, American Rifleman, American Hunter, Gun Week and Gun World. She also became a staff columnist for regional publications such as Metropolitan Camper and Del-Marva News.
She produced an award-winning radio program, “Outdoors Unlimited,” took first place in OWAA’s 1974 photograph contest for action-color and wrote two books: one on wilderness survival for the Hardy Boys series and “Women’s Guide to Outdoor Sports,” published by Winchester Press. By 1998, she was the new products editor and a columnist for Women & Guns magazine.
She also taught outdoor skills such as backpacking, orienteering and wilderness survival at Brookdale College in New Jersey.
As a consultant to the National Rifle Association for nine years, she spoke on radio, TV and in personal appearances, on the right to bear arms and to hunt. She served three terms on the organizations hunting and conservation committee, taught week-long courses in wilderness survival at NRA’s Whittington Center, served as a deputy conservation officer in New Jersey and taught hunter education in New Jersey and California. She was an NRA-certified pistol, rifle and shotgun instructor and was certified by the California Department of Justice to teach the basic firearms safety course required for firearm purchases in that state.
“The outdoor world has lost a truly great advocate,” said Bill Hilts Sr., a fellow past president of OWAA. “I was fortunate to be able to have called Sheila a good friend and watched her as she carved a trail which left an indelible mark on this fine organization. Sheila showed the way for ladies to become active members of the leadership of OWAA and what a great plus that has been for this group.”
Sheila’s family said anyone who wishes to acknowledge her is encouraged to make a donation in her name to organizations devoted to maintaining wilderness.

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In memoriam: Spencer Turner Dec. 10, 1939 — Aug. 26, 2016

OWAA Developer — Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:56:51 +0000

Longtime OWAA member Spencer Turner of Columbia, Missouri, died of pancreatic cancer Aug. 26. He was 76.
Turner joined OWAA in 1983. He served on its board of directors and won the Outstanding Board Member Award in 1995. He became president of OWAA in 2005 and received the Ham Brown Award in 2014.
Turner attended OWAA’s annual conference July 16-18, in Billings, Montana, this summer. His friend and fellow OWAA member Jim Low said attending this conference was important to Turner. It gave him a chance to say goodbye to friends and afterward he went fishing and caught his last trout.
To learn more about Turner, his career with the Missouri Department of Conservation and his dedication to OWAA, read the profile Low wrote about his friend and colleague for Outdoors Unlimited at https://owaa.org/owaa-legends/spencer-e-turner-iron-man-in-chest-waders/. You can also read a tribute to Turner written by Joel Vance at https://owaa.org/blog/2016/09/guest-post-joel-vance-spence-turner/.

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Bob Smith, OWAA’s former legal counsel died, March 8

OWAA Developer — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 02:49:14 +0000

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BY BILL POWELL
Aframed map of the world, crisscrossed with lines of varying colors showing his travels hung in his study at home.
Bob Smith loved a good adventure. His home and the office he kept until his death on March 8, 2016, are filled with mementos from his wide-ranging travels through space, time, careers and hobbies. Even the office itself reflected its owner’s passion — it served as OWAA’s headquarters from 1963 to 1972.
Robert C. (Bob) Smith served as OWAA’s legal counsel from 1978 to 1998. He received the Ham Brown Award, OWAA’s “most prestigious recognition of a member for devoted past service to the organization over a period of continuous years,” in 1989. He gave 10 more years after that to the organization.
Bob was always busy, in a hurry, sometimes too much so. When I was fresh out of law school, he once assigned me a jury trial the day before it was scheduled to begin, because he realized he’d also scheduled himself for something else the next day. After working all night, I managed to win it, but feared that might open me to more such assignments. I invited him to lunch and explained that I didn’t think I functioned well without adequate preparation time, and asked that I get more warning for things like trials. I, the whippersnapper, asked him, the senior partner, former state representative, former mayor, decorated World War II and Korean War veteran where he served as an artillery spotter pilot, world traveler, leading trial lawyer, member and president of multiple boards: “Bob, how can you stand to live your life like this?” His reply made a kind of sense for the life he chose to live: “I can’t seem to get much done unless I have too much to do.”
Bob and I practiced law together for about 10 years until the end of 1991, when he retired from all practice except for one client: OWAA. He and I teamed up on much of that work until 1998, when I became OWAA’s legal counsel. I married his daughter Jeanne in 1984. Bob’s wife, Jean, died in 1995. His four children and his six grandchildren survive.
Bob’s last few weeks were spent in a skilled nursing facility, on hospice care. Despite physical weakness and frailty, Bob maintained a quick wit and kept track of things, complained if he didn’t get his daily paper or if he didn’t have lots of visitors with whom he could converse. He watched sports, outdoors and travel shows on TV and bantered with the staff. When one of his favorite staff members was upset after another patient yelled and berated her, very frail Bob asked if she wanted him to go beat up the other patient.
Bob’s death prompted an outpouring of news stories, editorials, public gratitude and storytelling. He was praised as “an old-fashioned lawyer” and “an old fashioned politician” whose military, legal and political careers, as well as his life, were focused on service. He is remembered as someone who had unfailing good will toward others.
At the end of his life, 92 and with a failing body but still with a courageous, adventurous spirit, Bob had fewer regrets for things undone than almost anyone I’ve known. His service to OWAA was great, varied and long. When asked a few weeks before his death about the idea of OWAA naming a permanent endowment fund after him, he liked it. Capturing any life in words, or in dollars, is impossible. The newly created Bob Smith Fund is intended to give both him and OWAA a little bite of immortality.
You can donate to the Bob Smith fund by visiting https://owaa.org/store/donation/voluntary-contribution/.
An obituary may be found at http://www.columbiatribune.com/obituaries/bobsmith/article_8693b524-e5d750c7-9b67-26d517aad47c.html
— Bill Powell is OWAA’s legal counsel, succeeding his former law partner and father-in-law Bob Smith in that position. He is author of the “Legal Handbook for Freelancers,” and is a life member of OWAA, receiving its Ham Brown Award in 2005.

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In memorium: Jim Smith (Jan. 27, 1938 — Jan. 31, 2015)

OWAA Developer — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 06:07:47 +0000

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BY COLLEEN MINIUK-SPERRY

In fall 2009, I received an email. A gentleman cordially outlined he had received my name from the Arizona Highways Photography Workshops and wondered if I would like to speak at his Grand Photography Club. After I enthusiastically agreed to do so, he offered to buy me lunch prior to my presentation.
Although I had never met him, the camera dangling around his neck made Jim Smith easy to pick out at the restaurant. Minutes into our introductory chatter, I learned we had more in common than just a love of nature photography. Jim grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, just three towns east of where I spent half of my childhood. He had also, like me, changed careers to pursue his passion for the outdoors. Although he had started and ran his own real estate firm in Denver for 25 years, he left it behind to spend more time doing things he loved, like big game hunting, muskie fishing and target shooting. But he wanted to do more than simply participate; he aimed to share the joy of these activities with others through his writing and photography.
After our first meeting, I knew Jim not only dreamed big, but also pursued those ideas with gusto. As if authoring hundreds of outdoor articles for a variety of publications and winning many awards for his wildlife photography was not enough, he also served as the President for Muskie, Inc., was the editor emeritus of MUSKIE Magazine, a director for the National Rifle Association, and the Wildlife Commissioner for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. In 2013, the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame inducted him as a Legendary Communicator.
He also found time to teach hunter safety classes and organize fishing derbies for children. In addition, Jim served as President of the Grand Photography Club for a number of years, where he tirelessly (and seemingly effortlessly) helped me coordinate multiple photography seminars and workshops to benefit not only his club’s members, but also other photographers from camera clubs across Phoenix. Jim loved the outdoors, photography, writing, learning, and people. He magically blended these pursuits together to create rich, supportive learning communities.
During one of our conversations, Jim asked if I had ever heard of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. Before I could answer, he rattled off a laundry list of people in the group to whom he wanted to introduce me. He also said he wanted me to present at the upcoming conference in Rochester, Minnesota.
“I think you should become a member,” he said.
He handed me the membership application with his name already signed as my sponsor.
In summer 2010, I met all those talented communicators Jim mentioned (and many more) in Rochester. Prior to this event, I struggled to find my path as a photographer. What I learned during the conference inspired me to drop all my uninteresting commercial outlets to focus exclusively on the Great Outdoors. Jim had guided me to the mother ship and it changed my life.
My first year in the organization, Jim told me I’d get out of it, whatever I put into it. It was sound advice from someone who joined OWAA in 1992 and actively engaged with the organization. Jim chaired the Membership Recruitment Committee from 2007-2009 and participated in the Reference Manual Committee from 2005-2006, the Officer Nominating and Host Committee from 2008-2009, the Contest, Craft Improvement and Member Recruitment committees from 2009-2010 and the Craft Improvement Committee from 2010-2011. He also led the Photography Section for a short time and served on the Board of Directors from 2008-2010. In my five years as a member, I have tried to follow Jim’s large footsteps.
Despite his declining health in recent years, Jim never passed up the chance to meet for lunch. While grabbing a bite in December 2014, he joked about his ailments.
“Well, I know I’m not going to live forever,” he said. I took a moment to express to Jim how appreciative I was for all of his help and support over the years.
On Feb. 1, I received an email. Jim’s wife of 19 years, Lynda, wanted to inform me that just days after celebrating his 77th birthday, James “Jim” Todd Smith had passed away peacefully in his sleep. As Jim’s best friend (and former OWAA member), Steve Budnik, summarized in a recent tribute for MUSKIE Magazine: “A life well lived, and lived to the fullest, to be sure.”
In between the tears, I have found much joy in knowing that Jim’s guidance, encouragement, and support has allowed me to achieve so much more than I could have ever imagined. Simply put, Jim gave me wings. Jim’s legacy, spirit and impact on us will flourish forever.
– Hailing from Chandler, Arizona, Colleen Miniuk-Sperry left her project management job in Corporate America in 2007 to pursue a career as a freelance outdoor photographer, writer, publisher, and speaker.
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Remembering legend George Laycock

OWAA staff — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:50:43 +0000

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Longtime OWAA member George Laycock died March 31. He was 92.
Laycock was known as a prolific writer who published more than 50 books and hundreds of magazine articles in publications such as Better Homes and Gardens, Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Popular Science. He also was a field
editor for Audubon magazine.
He joined OWAA in 1951 and received a Circle of Chiefs award in 1970 and the Excellence in Craft Award in 1983. He continued to support OWAA through the years with generous donations and his time.
“He was truly a pioneer in OWAA,” said Michael Frome, a fellow Chief.
In the golden era of outdoor writing in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, Laycock wrote a few “me and Joe” hunting and fishing stories, but focused on conservation writing, said Steve Maslowski, whose father Karl Maslowski was a fellow Chief and close friend to Laycock.
Laycock was one of earliest and most influential critics of strip mining and his writing caused changes in legislation to better regulate the practice, Maslowski said. He castigated bad environmental practices, but also championed good ones, such as the expansion of the National Wildlife Refuge system.
He was a quiet man, whose writing spoke for itself.
“George earned his keep by what he did, not how he showcased,” Maslowski said. He was also a man of principles, and never exaggerated or lied, in conversation or in his writing.
“George’s principles served him — and the nation — well, but presented a frighteningly high bar for the likes of me,” Maslowski said.
Yet Laycock was there to encourage and mentor Maslowski and the next generation of outdoor writers. What Maslowski learned from Laycock can still be applied to journalism today.
“George was driven to write, and in writing was driven to point out the truth, wherever it lay,” Maslowski said. “It’s a model for the ages.”
As the oldest Chief, Laycock was still among the most active, said Joel Vance, a fellow Circle of Chiefs recipient. Laycock always stepped up to help with the selection of a new Chief, or pitch in wherever he was needed, Vance said.
Laycock’s work for Audubon stretched decades and his books were varied.
“He was a true giant of conservation and nature writing,” Vance said. Ted Williams worked with Laycock at Audubon.
“Even at that organization, his love and advocacy for wildlife was legend,” Williams said. “When almost all his contemporaries had burned out as writers and fallen silent, George was cranking out great copy.”
Laycock often favored advocating for creatures like snakes, skunks, coyotes, bats and other wildlife unloved and unappreciated by the public. He also kept up on wildlife issues up until near his death, sending so many story ideas Williams had to pass about 95 percent on to other writers.
Rich Patterson, another Circle of Chiefs recipient, didn’t know Laycock well, but remembers reading his books and articles in college.
“He was a legend,” Patterson said.
Chris Madson, also a Chief, met Laycock at a meeting. Madson stole a day to visit the Gettysburg battlefield and when he mentioned it to Laycock the two talked into the night about the time period, the battle and the sacrifices of the soldiers.
“His deep knowledge of the subject, his imagination and enthusiasm were compelling,” Madson said. “He brought those elements to everything he wrote and presented them in a style that was simple, accurate and graceful.”
Laycock was a modest man and great listener, Madson said.
He was a true “gentle man,” quiet, yet confident, said George Harrison, a fellow Chief.
Laycock was a “hybrid,” a dedicated bird watcher who also loved to hunt and fish. He was a writer, and also a photographer, Harrison said.
“I believe that George Laycock was one of OWAA’s best,” he said.
Laycock, a World War II veteran, died in his hometown of Cincinnati. He had three children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
For more on Laycock read the OWAA Legends piece written by Parker Bauer at https://owaa.org/owaa-legends/george-laycock/.
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In Memory: Lonnie Williamson and Tom Fegely

OWAA staff — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 22:22:49 +0000

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OWAA Legend Lonnie Williamson dies at 74

Our thoughts are with the family of Lonnie Williamson, an award-winning OWAA legend who died Dec. 18.
Williamson was born in Jackson County Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s of science degree in journalism and literature and a master’s degree in wildlife management. He performed
post-graduate work in economics at the University of Maryland.
His professional writing career began in 1958 when he took a reporting job with the Athens Banner Herald newspaper in Athens, Ga. He eventually joined the Wildlife Management Institute in Washington D.C. as the editor of the Outdoor News Bulletin in 1970. He retired 30 years later in the role of vice president of the organization.
Williamson, an accomplished writer contributing to magazine such as Outdoor Life, joined OWAA in December 1970.
“Lonnie Williamson was a great man and a great member of OWAA,” said member Glenn Sapir. “He brought a unique combination of qualities to our organization: expertise in wildlife management, journalism and finance, along with a loveable dose of wit, humor and level-headedness. … He always brought a respected perspective to any issue under discussion … Lonnie was candid and outspoken in his opinions, but he was always the epitome of the Southern gentleman that he was.”
Member Bill Powell met Williamson at a winter OWAA board meeting in 1993 when Williamson was board chairman and had just finished a term as OWAA president. At that meeting Williamson obtained board approval for the creation of OWAA’s restricted endowment fund, an important sustaining influence for the organization today.
“Besides being a dedicated worker over many years for the long-term good of OWAA, in his sometimes gruff and blunt way, he was a delight to have as a friend,” Powell said. “It’s rare to find someone with his mix of intelligence, directness and ability to see and shape the future for good.”
Throughout his membership Williamson continuously stepped up to serve, joining many committees and taking on leadership roles, including serving as the organization’s president from 1991-1992. He also was one of the first members appointed as trustee of OWAA’s endowment trust, managing OWAA’s permanent funds.
“Lonnie ranked as one of OWAA’s strongest and most thoughtful leaders,” said member Mark Sosin. “Beyond his service as president and chairman, Lonnie served on strategic committees of major importance and once could always count on him to suggest solutions to the most pressing problems.”
Throughout his career Williamson won numerous awards including OWAA’s Circle of Chiefs Award in 1983 and the Ham Brown Award for outstanding service in 2000.
“Lonnie Williamson was one of the finest human beings I have ever known,” said member Bill Hilts Sr. who wrote an OWAA legends piece on Williamson. “Lonnie’s relaxed demeanor and friendly attitude was his hallmark and we all learned so much from that truly great, but quiet, philosopher from Georgia.”

Former OWAA member Tom Fegely dies

Tom Fegely, a former OWAA member who served on the Board of Directors, died Dec. 17 in his home-state of Pennsylvania after a long illness. He and his wife Betty Lou Fegely (also a former member and a past president) were joint recipients of OWAA’s Ham Brown award in 2001.
Tom Fegely was a prolific freelance writer and photographer and book author, winning many awards for his work. Our thoughts are with the Fegelys’ family and friends. A full obituary may be found at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-fegely&pid=168658041.
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Outdoor writing community loses great editor and friend

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 22:39:09 +0000

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BY JAY MICHAEL STRANGIS
I opened my 2013-2014 OWAA Directory recently and checked my listing. I noticed something missing. It was the name of my compatriot and friend, Mike Strandlund. Reading down: Strandlund, Strangis … the alphabetical listing so often paired us over the 20 years that Mike was a member of OWAA.
Mike’s not there because he died unexpectedly on a vacation last spring at just 56 years old. He drowned, a long way from home. That’s somewhat ironic considering Mike was a true outdoor guy — excellent hunter, avid fisherman, loved the water and a good swimmer. Just a freak accident was about all that could be learned.
Mike served as the long-time editor of Bowhunting World magazine. We had a serendipitous 23-year friendship, formed in the strangest manner.
In 1990, I had just left an editor’s position at Bowhunting World magazine to take a managing editor’s position with the North American Hunting Club. At that time, I had a sweet 20-acre plot of private bowhunting-only land with some really good deer on the edge of the Twin Cities. Of course, I posted my hunting area with “No Hunting” signs to keep it undisturbed. I decided to scout the area from the outside-in one evening just before bow opener. As I glassed from a nearby church parking lot, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A guy was walking through the area, accompanied by a dog that was obviously hunting up and flushing pheasants. Since he was coming my way, I hustled out to meet him and to ask if he could read and why he was trespassing. He played dumb: “Uh, oh,” he said. “I was just working my dog. New here. Just moved from Virginia.” Then, after apologizing, he began asking me about my deer hunting. He seemed more than casually interested in the bowhunting aspect and said he had just taken a job as an editor of a bowhunting magazine with Ehlert Publishing. I about fell over. Here was the guy who had taken the job I had just left! What are the odds?
And that was the start of our friendship. A couple of years later, I ended up as an editor at Petersen’s Bowhunting and would stay with that publication for the next 15 years. Mike and I were competitors, but only on paper. We lived worlds away, but stayed in touch, shared hunting stories, compared industry tales, talked about our dreams, our relationships and most anything else friends talk about. Since I had moved to California to take the job with Petersen’s, Mike inherited some of my good deer and pheasant hunting spots in the west metro area of the Twin Cities, as well as the copiously hard-earned details about how and when to access and hunt them. Mike always made a point of sharing tales of adventure about those memorable spots when we got together.
Mike and I seemed bound together by so many odd events. One year we were both asked to have our heads publicly shaved bald as a fundraiser to benefit cancer research. I well remember sitting on stage at the Archery Trade Association Trade Show with Mike next to me, enjoying the crowd’s laughs and catcalls as our hair dropped to the floor. Whoever cut Mike’s hair left a crest at the top that made him look like some strange breed of chicken, a view that had everyone around him in stitches. Two weeks later we rendezvoused to compare heads at the SHOT Show.
I last enjoyed quality time with Mike at a recent SHOT Show media day. We spent most of the day together knocking around the event, lingering over lunch, comparing notes on our jobs and industry politics, and sharing very personal stories about our relationships and our families. I’m not even sure how much we really saw of the event, because we were so embroiled in really deep conversations. That’s what was possible with Mike. He offered a real level of trust and honesty that I’ve found in few others. I think a lot of people valued that in him.
Mike was a savvy hunter, excellent writer and editor, and exemplary representative of American outdoor writers. He also was a longtime OWAA member, whose place in the annual directory and friendship I will sorely miss.
Jay Michael Strangis, a member since 1990, currently serves as editor of American Waterfowler Magazine. He is also a book author and published writer. Contact him at jmsoutside@q.com.
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Dave Richey was true grit and a true friend

OWAA staff — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 17:45:10 +0000

BY TOM HUGGLER
An asthma condition kept him from playing sports as a child so he turned to the outdoors and began writing about it in his 20s. He penned the first of 24 books while lying in bed with a broken back from a freak accident, the pain of which plagued him all his life. Later he developed painful Crohn’s disease and double glaucoma. Left-eye blind and right-eye blurred, he stopped driving but never quit deer hunting or gave up writing his outdoor blog.
Our friend David Richey Sr. died June 20 from a massive brain hemorrhage. He was a month shy of his 74th birthday.
Although he and his wife Kay rarely missed an OWAA conference, you might not have met Dave in person. But you knew him. You knew him through the pages of Outdoors Unlimited, his books and the more than 7,000 articles he wrote for some 250 publications since joining OWAA 45 years ago. If you live in Michigan, you read him in the Detroit News, where he was the outdoors editor from 1981 to 2003 when he retired.
Chances are he befriended you, as he did me and many other writers, both novice and veteran. I owe a big part of my career to Dave Richey. No one gave more freely of his time. No one was more proud when people he helped became successful.
He loved OWAA and gave his heart and soul to the organization. Dave was personally responsible for much of the popular 1984 conference in Traverse City. He served three terms on the OWAA Board of Directors, won the Ham Brown Award in 1994 and Excellence in Craft in 2003. And at last year’s conference OWAA bestowed its coveted Circle of Chiefs award on Dave.
He sold his first story, to Sports Afield, in 1968. That year Homer Circle sponsored him for OWAA membership.
In the early 1970s, Richey and I lived a dozen miles apart near Flint, Mich. He happened to read an article I wrote for a local weekly about starling shooting at an area landfill.
“I know a guy with a blueberry farm being plagued by blackbirds,” he said over the phone. “Do you want to come over for a shoot?”
That incident led to a lifelong friendship. Dave sponsored me for OWAA membership and we attended the Quebec City conference in 1974 — my first — where I met the legendary Uncle Homer. Two years later we drove to Snowmass, Colo., where Dave introduced me to Erwin “Joe” Bauer, another hero of mine.
As may well be true with you, my first conference was the best. In Quebec City we writers were treated like royalty. Waiters at the brand-new Hilton Hotel wore tuxedos. One of the sponsors, Braniff Airlines (remember them?), gave us durable travel bags, which I had for many years. My hotel parking bill cost more than the heavily subsidized room. The annual fete du homard (lobster fest) was in full swing. I’ll never forget an evening on the town with our wives when Dave gave a restaurant order for two $5 lobster dinners “20 minutes apart.”
I met Richard Smith, another young Michigan writer whom Dave sponsored, in Quebec during a preconference fishing trip that Richey helped arrange. Richard, too, is still an OWAA member, another life-long friend credited to the legacy of Dave Richey.
The man cast a long shadow.
Back home in Michigan, Dave and I deer hunted together and fished for winter pike on Manistee Lake and spring steelhead in the Platte River, usually in the company of Richey’s twin brother George. When George died 10 years ago, friends and family scattered some of his ashes in the “Snow Hole.” It’s on the slick-running Sturgeon River near Wolverine where the Richey boys caught their first steelhead.
Soon, on a day in late summer or early fall, the Snow Hole will claim the rest of George’s ashes along with those of Dave’s.
Nothing is more simple or more lasting than to be “Called Back,” to borrow from the headstone of poet Emily Dickinson.
Dave Richey has gone home, and you and I have lost a true friend. ◊
Tom Huggler is from Sunfield, Mich., where he is a full-time freelance writer, photographer and editor, specializing in deer hunting, waterfowling and shore-fishing. Huggler was OWAA president in 1992-93. Contact him at hugglertom@cs.com.

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A tribute to a leader

OWAA staff — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:29:56 +0000

A member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America since 1989, Mike Walker was a leader and innovator in the outdoors field. Walker died the morning of Aug. 16, surrounded by his family at a hospice facility near his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 64.
“The [non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver] just got to be too much to battle,” Walker’s wife Mary wrote on the family’s CaringBridge website. “As if everyone knew last night would be his last, the whole family came over to have a family dinner and to be with him … Everyone knew the end was in sight and were able to say their goodbyes.”
The Walker Agency, which Walker formed in 1982, specialized in representing outdoor recreation clients including long-time OWAA supporters Toyota Motor Sales, Safari Club International, Yamaha Motor Corp., BoatU.S. and many others. Walker produced and wrote for two nationally syndicated radio programs, “The World of Ducks Unlimited,” and “Toyota Outdoors.” He also wrote a monthly marketing column for Soundings Trade Only magazine, the leading marine industry publication, plus freelance articles in Boat and Motor Dealer and Boating World magazines.
“Mike was a true pro who worked his heart out for his clients,” said Mark Taylor, OWAA first vice president. “This is a guy who, when he was working with Toyota, showed up at an OWAA conference with a Prius, and that was the car all those truck-driving outdoorsmen ended up talking about. He was that good.”
“Mike was one of the most honest men I knew. And he knew his products extremely well,” said Jim Foster, OWAA colleague and friend.
Walker was elected OWAA vice president and joined OWAA’s executive committee in 2008. In 2011, the OWAA Board of Directors unanimously elected him president, a position he held at the time of his death. Walker previously served two terms on OWAA’s board in addition to serving many OWAA committees over the years. He also received numerous OWAA Excellence in Craft contest awards.
Walker was involved in communications his entire life. In high school, he hosted a weekly radio report and wrote for the student newspaper. He then became sports editor for the Kansas University Daily Kansan and a stringer for the Topeka Capital-Journal and Kansas City Star. After graduating from The University of Kansas’s journalism school in 1969, he did two overseas tours as a Naval officer before earning a master’s degree and teaching journalism at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. In his postacademic life, Walker held positions as editorial services manager for Johnson Outboards and public relations manager for Armour-Dial before launching his own firm.
Walker’s professional affiliations were far reaching. He received several industry awards, including the Crystal Award of Excellence in The Communicator Awards 2007 International Print Media competition. He was a life member and past president of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, and member of Boating Writers International, the Automotive Press Association, and the Phoenix Automotive Press Association. He also served as secretary of the Outdoor Journalism Education Foundation of America.
“It’s a sad day for OWAA and the other media organizations Mike belonged to, but a sadder day for those of us whose lives he touched,” said OWAA Past President Tony Dolle. “I can truly say I am a better person for having known Mike and a lucky one to have called him friend.” ◊

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