Raff's Eulogy "Words for an Old Friend—Remembering Kirk Wipper"

KAWW and Neil Broadfoot kibbitzing on the porch of the Canadian Canoe Museum on July 15, 2008

Keene United Church, March 26, 2011

James Raffan

If you are in this church, then you would know that when you head North—in a ship or a plane, in a canoe or on snowshoes or, I daresay, in a 1971 Chevy pickup truck with bald tires and bankrupt brakes and a jumble of historical canoes on top … when you head North, you eventually cross a line of magnetic uncertainty, a place where the compass needle tends to spin erratically.  That’s a little like how I have felt since last at 11:40 p.m. last Friday night when the Wipper’s friend and lawyer, Don White, called to say that Kirk had died.  Navigation since then has been difficult because one of the principal forces that trued my personal compass is gone.   You may feel similarly adrift.

In this uncertain space, my mind has wandered.  At one point, I thought it might be appropriate to stand up here and begin by explaining that there are things I have been dying to say about Kirk Wipper.  And then, thought I might congratulate Kirk for planning to be cremated, making this church a no coffin zone, so that people would be able to hear properly on the recording of the proceedings.  But then I thought that that kind of verbal tomfoolery might engage the lawyers in the house who might ask that I decease and desist from such silliness.  Happily, those thoughts passed, and I decided not to say anything of the kind, and to begin these reflections on Kirk’s life in a more respectful, less punny way.

We are saying goodbye this morning to a man who changed the world.  If you look at the tributes to Kirk that are pouring in to his website (www.kirkwipper.ca), into the museum website (www.canoemuseum.ca) and to the sites of other organizations to which Kirk was affiliated, you will see how this remarkable Canadian was loved and appreciated by people in many different sectors, but you will also see that he, indeed, changed the world for the better and that he did this one person at a time.  (As an aside, it is ironic that in the maelstrom of telephone and email traffic that followed his death, many people called to say they’d noticed the funeral was for friends and family.  “I met Kirk once back in 1975, or he was my teacher a long time ago,” they would say, “but I considered him a friend.  May I come?”)  Kirk Wipper’s legacy is attached to canoes, that is for sure, but his legacy is also connected to people.  I count myself among them.  I count myself lucky.

Were it not for Kirk Wipper, I might still have a real job!  Were it not for Kirk Wipper, I might have been sitting fat (fatter?) and happy (but not happier) in the professoriate with a six-figure salary and healthy pension waiting in the wings.  Instead, rich in spirit, I am taking my turn as helmsman with a stellar brigade of friends and companions on the ultimate canoe journey, in a vessel that had brought us all together called The Canadian Canoe Museum. 

And what a crew!   Look at you.  There is Jim Stewart and the hard-working Board of Directors.  There is John Summers and the superlative museum staff.  And then there is the world’s most committed corps of members, friends, and volunteers who power the dream forward.  A crew that reaches across Canada and around the world.  And what do we have in common, what keeps us together in common purpose?  Kirk Wipper.

I am here because Kirk asked me to lend a hand.  I am here because I believe that the work we are doing at The Canadian Canoe Museum is worthwhile.  I am here because fifty-two years ago, in the summer I turned five years old, I met a man who shaped my life.  I met a mentor.  I met a friend called Kirk.

I met Kirk through my dad, who had skills that Kirk needed at Camp Kandalore.  They were both Navy veterans, having served during the Second World War.  They would sit together and tell stories of their experiences on the high seas.  They would laugh lustily, as sailors do (when my mother and Margaret were out of earshot).  And, as I have thought about Kirk in these days following his death, that sailor motif has persisted.  And I have thought of Kirk’s love of the romantic poets, Alfred Lord Tennyson in particular, and his poem, Ulysses.  It’s the one that begins “It little profits an idle king …” and ends with that familiar refrain that became the motto of Outward Bound (and, I gather, the upcoming Olympics Games in London in 2012), “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” 

If these words don’t ring a familiar chord to you, suffice it to know that Ulysses is a poem about an old sailor sitting at the hearth recounting his life, recounting (to younger sailors?) the lessons he has learned in a life at sea.

The lines of Ulysses that most remind me of Kirk are buried in the middle of the poem.  “All experience is an arch wherethrough gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades for ever and for ever when I move …” This was the essence of Kirk. 

Kirk took you to his arch and invited you to view the world through it.  It was an arch that was created by his own philosophies but also mixed into the mortar of that structure were the writings of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Longfellow, William Henry Drummond and Pauline Johnson—snippets of most of whom he could recite by heart—the journals of travelers like Samuel de Champlain and David Thompson, and the teachings of Henry David Thoreau, John Dewey, John Muir, Annie Dillard, Kurt Hahn, Robert Baden Powell, Ernest Thompson Seton, Grey Owl and the like. 

Kirk invited you to look through that arch, which was his, but his genius as an educator, as a mentor, was that he invited his students to look out on that horizon “whose margin fades for ever, and for ever” he stood beside you and invited you to dream with him.  He was not impelling you into his dream.  He was not pushing you toward that horizon.  He was not cajoling you, or dragging you toward that margin.  He was inviting you to set sail on your own voyage of discovery.  He could tell you about some of the skills you would need to navigate and to succeed.  And he would tell you that he could probably help you learn some of those skills.  He would tell you that he had the ultimate confidence that you could and would succeed.  He might take your hand and show you how to haul the main sheet but he would make it clear that it was your hand that had to be on the tiller.

Who was this enigmatic man born in the Interlake Region of Manitoba?  Who was Kirk Wipper?  Why was he so influential?  Why were people drawn to him?

He was charismatic.  He was compelling.  He loved the limelight. 

He was genuine.  He was generous … occasionally to a fault.

He was fiercely intelligent.  Kirk always said it was our obligation “to know, to care, to act.”  People in recreation might hear echoes of  the “body, mind, spirit” trifecta of the YM/YWCA, which was surely a part of who and what Kirk was.  For those of us in education, we would hear in this the refrain of Benjamin Bloom and his taxonomy of cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning domains.  Kirk knew about that too. 

But his most compelling theory of education was that which was embodied in the man himself—he knew with his head, he knew with his hands, he knew with his body, he knew with his heart, he knew with his soul.  And all of that was wrapped up in action that engaged the world and its inhabitants with fully integrated knowledge, with openness, fairness, curiosity and a sense of fun.

He was kind.  He was thoughtful.  He was committed.

He was loyal.  He had a sense of duty to humanity.  He always sought the highest good.  And, I think, when Kirk was damned or misunderstood—and believe me there were times when Kirk exasperated people—I suspect that maybe what was not fully understood about his nature at these times was that Kirk, in his mind, was often seeking a higher good that maybe the rest of us couldn’t see or fully appreciate.

Kirk was a trickster, with an inalienable sense of fun.  He had a wicked, irrepressible and occasionally politically incorrect sense of humour.

But all this was wrapped up into a dream—a dream wrapped up in a humble vessel without decks.    The canoe was to Kirk a work of art.  It was—it is—beautiful.  And part of that beauty is that it was made first of natural materials by indigenous hands.  Kirk loved the fact that in its beauty and functionality the canoe connects people to the Canadian landscape.    The canoe was a way to physical fitness and to understanding.  Quoting Thoreau, he would say, “In wildness is the salvation of the world.”  The canoe connected us to the wilderness.  But most importantly, the canoe connected people to each other, Aboriginal—First Nation, Métis, Inuit—French and English.  To preserve the canoe was to remember and celebrate Canada itself.  Kirk knew that the canoe was about the Canada of yesterday and today but also about the Canada of tomorrow.  Kirk’s dream was about “pulling together,” for now, for always.

Kirk’s legacy lives in all of us.  But it also lives in The Canadian Canoe Museum.  As the initial shock of his passing fades and is replaced by a dull ache and sadness, I realize that much of what he stood for is there in the museum’s collection of 600+ canoes, kayaks and self-propelled vessels that he so loved—that unique portrait of Canada that is The Canadian Canoe Museum.  I have realized that just knowing this collection is there and that it is being looked after and its stories communicated to Canadians—knowing this trues my compass.

Thinking of the museum, I must turn to Ann, Joanna, David, Doug, the children and grandchildren in Kirk’s immediate family.  We have created a memorial to Kirk—built around the first canoe in the Kanawa Collection, the Payne Brothers basswood dugout—with paddle and a book of condolences on the Grand Portage at the museum to create a temporary place for people to come to remember him.  And we are in the very early stages of planning a permanent tribute and memorial to Kirk inside the museum that will tell his story in the context of the story—would it be fair to call it the richly checkered story—of the museum and its historical arc where people can come to share Kirk stories.  But I want to say that whether it is to visit that exhibit or the museum as a whole, you are welcome.  We will welcome you whenever you might like to come.  We can probably arrange a special family discount.

Kirk’s dream, his force, lives in all of us.  As my inner compass has settled down a bit after the seismic shock that sent it spinning last Friday, I have realized that I am surrounded by lines of commitment, of belief, of dedication, of vision of everyone whose life he touched.  What I need now to do is let go and trust that together, in his memory, we can keep the dream alive, moving toward that horizon whose margin fades … (I suspect if we look very carefully that we may in the future, from time to time, see a familiar silhouette in a bark canoe paddling out near that horizon—I don’t think he’ll be that far away) 

I have realized in Kirk’s passing that the power of the whole is bigger than the power of any one of us.  Together we can carry on.   Together we will carry on.

To end, I come back to Tennyson and Ulysses last instruction that closes this epic poem:

Though much is taken, much abides; and though

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Goodbye my friend. 

And thank you.

*     *     *

James Raffan is Executive Director of The Canadian Canoe Museum.

Kirk Wipper Eulogy by Robin Campbell

(From the Eulogies at http://www.kirkwipper.ca/) 

It is indeed a privilege for me to speak this morning to celebrate the life of my colleague and friend Kirk Wipper. Ann, Doug, David, Johanna and your families, our thoughts are with you. For those of you who may not know my connection to Kirk and the Wipper family, I first met Kirk in 1957,when I was a young camper, the year Kirk bought Camp Kandalore. Since that time, I was so inspired by Kirk’s values that I continued at camp through my university years, was a Professor and colleague with Kirk at the University of Toronto and volunteered with him at the Royal Life Saving Society.

 Over his lifetime, we knew Kirk by many titles. For some of you it was husband, father or grandparent. For others, it was physical educator, coach, Professor, Camp Director, Curator, Professor Emeritus or Chancellor to name a few. For most of us, Kirk will be remembered simply as our friend. I think though, Kirk will be recognized by most as a visionary leader of Canadian Heritage and for those achievements, Kirk was given the Order of Canada in 2002. 

Throughout his life, Kirk believed in the value of education and worked tirelessly even after his retirement from the University of Toronto in 1987 on projects that would leave a wonderful legacy. You have heard about many of these activities this morning. 

Kirk joined the School of Physical and Health Education in 1950 and from the start was considered an innovator. Kirk was recognized as a pioneer in the development of outdoor education in Canada. In the 1970’s, Kirk developed the syllabus for outdoor education courses, a program that is still required today as part of the BPHE undergraduate curriculum at U of T. During his 37 years at the University, he taught more than 3,000 students and I see that some of them are here this morning. 

In 1959, the Royal Life Saving Society credited Kirk with introducing mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration into the Society’s Canadian training program. Also during Kirk’s term as President of the Ontario Branch between 1965 – 67, drafts of the first Canadian Life Saving manuals were written – a project headed by Joc Palm.

These are impressive accomplishments for a full-time University Professor and the owner of a summer camp. Perhaps my most vivid memories of Kirk were during our time together at Camp Kandalore. Next were Kirk’s extraordinary efforts to establish the Canoe Museum at the Camp in 1965 and its growth to become the world’s largest collection of small watercraft now displayed in Peterborough.  

Even at Camp, Kirk was always the educator. He described his three w’s (Water Safety, Woodsmanship and Wilderness travel) – if you add awareness of the environment – conservation of the woodlands and marshes and preserving the heritage of the First Nations peoples there was a sufficient body of knowledge to fill much more than our time at camp each summer.

There was also a lighter side at Camp. As the Director, most of us staff could tolerate Kirk’s incessant puns but it was difficult for me as the Assistant Director to explain the value of doing a headstand in a canoe to parents on parent’s day. It was certainly his signature trick. I don’t remember anyone else even attempting that stunt. At the time, most of us were smart enough to stay away from challenging Kirk to a wrestling match. In those days, the young campers saw him as an awesome figure strutting about the camp in a buckskin jacket. He knew every camper’s name and many of their phone numbers. He had at times an irritatingly good memory – but a valuable attribute for a Camp Director. 

One time Kirk asked one of youngest jr campers to stand on a chair after dinner to announce at the top of his lungs “ Free Tuck”. I never understood Kirk’s idea of giving away free tuck – but in today’s business parlance he was way ahead of the curve. Today, it would be called added value or good customer service.

In his own way, Kirk was a benefactor and patron of the arts. He encouraged musical talent and artistic expression. There were always singsongs after a meal and music at campfires with Neil Broadfoot or his successors strumming on the banjo or guitar.  We even put on the musical Oliver one year and invited the cottagers to join us. One year, Kirk commissioned Bob Forbes to make bigger than life figures of the fur trader, the lumberjack, the pioneer and the voyageur to hang in the dining hall. One pre camp, he even asked Wolf Ruck to carve a totem pole. Most of the time, we thought Wolf was slacking off just going for afternoon joy rides in a kayak. Later that summer, we found out that Wolf had qualified for the 1968 Olympic games in the K2 and K4 kayak events. Kirk always encouraged all of us to strive for the best – in our chosen field. 

Many for his “Nature Hikes” will remember Kirk He even became a celebrity. He had his own TV show “A Walk with Kirk”. I can remember vividly those walks where Kirk pointed out not only the flora and fauna but how they each fitted into the natural eco system – At the time, we were more concerned about swatting the mosquitoes than listening. He had to show us where the tamarack trees stood tall in the bog. On reflection, Kirk taught us valuable lessons on preserving the natural habitat. 

During the 1960’s the camp was always under construction. Cabin after cabin and extensions to the dining hall. One memory was my recollection of the 1966 pre-camp crew when we were building the swimming docks. It was a warm spring and we got hot dragging the oak logs off the hydro trail. We thought it generous of Kirk to offer us access to the soft drinks in the tuck shop. After each log run, we would sit by the water and drink a coke. It was not until just before the campers arrived that Kirk discovered that we had consumed 180 cases of soft drinks he commented in his usual style “O boys that was the camp supply of soft drinks for the whole summer. He took that incident in stride and knew that we were working our hearts out for him.

Kirk was also a spiritual leader. Chapel Island was a special place. On Sunday mornings, he always delivered an uplifting and poignant message. 

At the time, Kandalore was also known as one of the best tripping camps in the country. In the 1960’s after Halliburton became too populated, Kirk sent the trips to Algonquin Park. When it was difficult to find campsites he purchased Garden Island in Temagami to act as an outpost. Later, Doug Wipper operated trips from the island for many years. There were even more ambitious trips to Quetico and beyond. Kirk allowed the campers and staff to gain a glimpse at some of Canada’s best-preserved wilderness areas. At the same time he taught us to be resourceful and respectful of the environment.

 Kirk’s leadership in establishing the Canadian Canoe Museum. With the help of many over the years, Kirk preserved for future generations our 19^th century pioneering heritage and the watercraft of the First Nations Peoples. 

At times, we thought of Kirk as an actor. Talk about live entertainment. He recreated the traditions of our First Nation’s peoples by inviting cabin groups to represent tribes. As would be expected, Kirk portrayed himself as the tribal chief. In the dim light of the campfire, he drew around him the tribes from Algonquin and Iroquois nations to smoke the peace pipe. We even tried the flaming arrow on a wire to start the fire or gunpowder to make the flash. But there was indeed a reverence to this ceremony. To the campers, this was a special evening. More importantly, it gave Kirk an opportunity to preserve the rich heritage of our First Nations Peoples. What I remember most were the lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Song to Hiawatha

Hiawatha said to old Nokomis 
I am going on a long and distant journey
To the portals of the Sunset
To the regions of the home-wind of the north–west wind Keewaydin
Bade farewell to all the warriors
Bade farewell to all the young men
On the shore stood Hiawatha
Turned and waved his hand at parting 
On the clear and luminous water
Launched his birch-canoe for sailing 
From the pebbles of the margin 
Shoved it forth into the water.

This is my most vivid memory of Kirk – paddling off into the darkness – and knowing that he had left behind a powerful message.

Kirk was a good friend. His presence will be missed but his accomplishments have left a powerful legacy.

Robin Campbell,
Executive Director, Advancement
University of Toronto
Faculty of Physical Education and Health

Memorials, Recollections and Tributes

• Kirk Wipper's Website
• Reflections On The Outdoors Naturally
• Indigenous Boats
• Water Walker
• David Spencer's Education Paragon
• Chex Newswatch story
• Peterborough Examiner article
• Canoe&Kayak Magazine article
• CCM Executive Director James Raffan's Tribute to Kirk
• Eulogy from University of Toronto Professor Robin Campbell
• Fiona Westner-Ramsay's Tribute on Badger's Blog
• Kirk Speaking at the Canadian Recreational Canoeing Association Canoe Symposium Millennium Campfire in 2000
• Kirk Wipper Funeral on CHEX TV

Paddler's Guide to Happy Camping | Kirk Wipper, a legend in the canoe world, has passed away (outdoorsica.com)

Paddler's Guide to Happy Camping Kirk Wipper, a legend in the canoe world, has passed away (outdoorsica.com)

Indigenous Boats: Kirk Wipper is Gone

Indigenous Boats: Kirk Wipper is Gone: "Sad news: Kirk Wipper, founder of the Canadian Canoe Museum, died on Friday. He was 88 years old. A nice obituary and capsule biography is h..."

Message from Robin Campbell

I am working on it. I will be speaking at the funeral this Saturday morning Mar 26th on behalf of the Faculty and Camp Kandalore. I spoke with Neil Sorbie a PHE Alum from the mid 1970’s and am working with him on a tribute event in honour of Kirk. We are going to organize the portage of a birch bark canoe from Hart House to the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough in time for the tribute event there on May 1st. Each participant would do 0.5 km – Donations would go to either the Canoe Museum or the Kirk Wipper Award in our undergraduate program. We should have the plans finalized by Mar 28th. We will send a notice out far and wide and offer our Alumni the opportunity to contribute to the Award or to get involved in the epic event.

We have already sent flowers to the funeral home from the Faculty.

We will keep you posted. Other ideas would be welcomed!!

Robin Campbell,
Executive Director, Advancement
University of Toronto
Faculty of Physical Education and Health
55 Harbord Street,
Toronto, ON M5S 2W6
416-677-5357

www.physical.utoronto.ca
https://donate.utoronto.ca/fpeh

From the U of T Faculty of Physical Education & Health

Posted on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 at 12:10 pm

The Faculty lost a long-time friend, physical educator and outdoorsman on March 18, 2011, when Kirk Wipper (BPHE 4T8, BSW 5T0, BA 5T3, M.Ed. 5T9, Wrestling) passed away at the age of 87. He leaves behind his wife, Ann, and children Doug, David and Johanna.

Kirk made a major contribution as a student-athlete, coach, teacher, mentor and lover of physical activity of all kinds.

As captain of the wrestling team, Kirk was undefeated in individual competition and helped the Blues win three league championships. He later served as coach for six seasons, and in 1991 was inducted into the U of T Sports Hall of Fame for his successes on the mat.

Kirk joined the School of Physical and Health Education in 1950, where he was professor until his retirement in 1987.

An outstanding leader in outdoor education, Kirk developed and led the outdoor projects portion of the BPHE curriculum for many years. He was owner of Camp Kandalore, the original site for ODP camp.

Kirk also served as a supervisor for rugby and track and field, coach of the Blues cross country team, and chair of the Athletics Council from 1983 to 1987. He received the Loudon Award (1987) and the Arbor Award (2002) for service to the University.

Recognized as a pioneer in the development of outdoor education in Canada, Kirk founded the Kanawa International Museum of Canoes, Kayaks and Rowing Craft in 1965, creating the world’s largest collection of watercraft.

Among his other many awards over the years, Kirk received the Order of Canada in 2002 for his life’s work. The Kirk A. Wipper Award was established at U of T in 1990 to honour outstanding students who demonstrate leadership, a willingness to help others and enthusiastic involvement in the outdoor projects.

Best known for his passion for the natural environment, Kirk fostered a love of physical activity in everyone he met – colleagues, friends and students like.

For more information about the Kirk A.W. Wipper Award and how to donate, please contact Masha Sidorova.

Obituary -- Published in the Toronto Star on March 22, 2011

WIPPER, Professor Kirk - A. W., C.M., O.Ont. K.S.J., B.P.H.E., B.S.W., M.A., M.Ed., D.Mus. Principal and Chancellor, Professor Emeritus, Retired Professor at the University of Toronto and Founder of the Canadian Canoe Museum. Recipient the Order of Canada. At Peterborough Regional Health Centre on Friday, March 18, 2011, Kirk Wipper of R.R. No. 8 Peterborough. Beloved husband of Ann. Friends will be received at Keene United Church, from 2:00-8:00 p.m. Friday and from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Saturday. A memorial service will be held at KEENE UNITED CHURCH, at the corner of Second and North Streets, Keene on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 11 a.m.

A disturbance in the Force

I guess if Kirk could get on Twitter, Rory MacKay can join the twenty-first Century as well.

These past few days have been flooded with memories of Kirk Wipper and the team of young men with whom I had the opportunity to spend the summers of 1969 to 1971.

When I heard that Kirk had passed away I immediately wanted to be at the funeral itself, so strong was my connection with the man, even though the notice said close friends and family. It had been some time since I saw Kirk, but I had thought of him often. I came to realize how Kirk was always engaged when he was in conversation with a person, or seemed to me to be so in my experience. He gave me the impression, always, that he valued me as a person, as an individual, and as more than just an employee, or just an acquaintance, or just a friend. He gave the impression that I was a close friend; and I suppose that is why my response was as it was when I learned that he had passed.

I have written elsewhere that Kirk trusted in my abilities before I recognized them in myself. I interviewed to work at Kandalore in 1968 and Kirk was prepared to hire me. I decided I wasn't ready to take on the responsibilities he expected. There were other examples while I was at camp. I don't recall Kirk "hovering" to supervise my work. He let me do it, and was there to back me up when needed. I wish all my subsequent employers had been that way.

I recall Kirk's wit. One day he announced to his senior staff that he was going off in search of a particular canoe. I don't recall which one. He said that he would be gone for some time but that he was not concerned, as the camp would be in good hands. He said "My Rod [MacDonald] and my staff shall comfort me." A good line, which I have obviously remembered.

Kirk was very much about the canoe, obviously. There are many other people who are associated with canoes, among them Bill Mason, and Pierre Trudeau. Perhaps because he was an American, I hear less amongst Canadian canoeists about Sigurd Olson. For some reason I associate Kirk with him, or him with Kirk. Both shared a great love of the land and wilderness.
I shared with Kirk a passage from Olson's chapter "The Way of A Canoe" in his book "The Singing Wilderness":

"The movement of a canoe is like a reed in the wind. Silence is part of it, and the sounds of lapping water, bird songs, and wind in the trees. It is part of the medium through which it floats, the sky, the water, the shores. A man is part of his canoe and therefore part of all it knows. The instant he dips a paddle, he flows as it flows, the canoe yielding to his slightest touch, responsive to his every whim and thought. The paddle is an extension of his arm, as his arm is part of his body.....To the canoeman there is nothing that compares with the joy he knows when a paddle is in his hand."

Kirk liked that. It sounds to me like something that Kirk would have said. It reads like something Kirk would have written. I hope that Kirk left some of his thoughts in writing, whether private thoughts or in speeches, so that someday I may be able to place a biography or volume of his essays on my shelf, right next to Sigurd Olson's books.

In the meantime, perhaps I will learn more about just how important Kirk Wipper was to other members of the Kandalore Nor'Westers. Kirk's death leaves a great hole in the fabric of life. Hearing from others will help fill that gap, in a small way, for me.

Kirk A.W. Wipper (1923-2011) -- Funeral & Memorial

Details of Kirk's funeral and memorial service are up on the museum's website http://www.canoemuseum.ca/  

Visitation for close friends and family is set for Friday, March 28th from 2-8 p.m. followed by the funeral and reception at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 26th at Keene United Church in the village of Keene, not far from where Kirk and Ann lived.

For the wider community, a memorial gathering entitled "Travelling On: Celebrating the Life and Passions of Kirk Wipper" will be happening at The Canadian Canoe Museum on Saturday, April 30th at 2 p.m. followed by a reception at the museum.

Please let me know if you (or someone you know) might like to contribute a song, skit or story to this celebration.

**************************************

James Raffan, PhD
Executive Director
The Canadian Canoe Museum
910 Monaghan Road
Peterborough, ON
K9J 5K4 (705) 748-9153

Kirk A.W. Wipper (1923-2011)

Dear Friends:

I regret to inform you that Kirk died suddenly last evening.  He was with Ann and friends at Elmhirst's Resort and, apparently, choked on a piece of meat and they were unable to clear his airway.  His neighbour Don White called from the Peterborough Hospital at about 11:40 to relay the sad news.  Ann's son Mike was with them, as are the friends and neighbours so she is not alone.  I know you will join me in conveying heartfelt condolences to Ann and the rest of Kirk's family.

One of Kirk's favourite poets was 19th Century English writer William Arthur Dunkerley, who, under the pen name John Oxenham, wrote, "For death begins with life's first breath, and life begins at the touch of death."   So ends and era.  And so begins another, hard as that is to fathom at this moment.

As you may know, Kirk was honoured last fall with the Ron Johnston Lifetime Achievement Award by his peers and colleagues in the Ontario Camping Association.  In conjunction with this honour, the OCA made a short film to mark the occasion. If you'd like to have a look, here is the link to Ann's MobileMe page: http://gallery.me.com/annwipper#100026/Kirk%20Wipper1%20-%20Computer&bgcolor=black

Near the end of this retrospective on his life, Kirk—prophetically, as it turns out—recites a poem called "The Way" by John Oxenham.  There will be much more to be said and done to mark the passing of this life that has brought us all together, this life that has done so much for Canada  ... but until we all get organized and back on our feet I leave you with these words spoken by Kirk himself just a couple of months ago and send them along with stunned disbelief, I'm sure you share, that the time has come to say goodbye to our old friend.

To every man there openeth

A Way and Ways and A Way

And the High Soul climbs the High Way

And the Low Soul gropes the Low

And in between on the misty flats

The rest drift to and fro;

But to every man there openeth

A Way and Ways and The Way (this is Kirk's personal variant on the poet's original line)

And every man decideth

The way his soul shall go

This past evening, sadly, a High Soul has paddled on.

Details about arrangements will follow.

Jim

"You have to do what you can, do your best with what you are.  And you have to believe in wilderness.  If you do that you can't go wrong."

Kirk Albert Walter Wipper

b Grahamdale, Manitoba, December 6th, 1923

d Peterborough, Ontario, March 18, 2011

**************************************

James Raffan, PhD
Executive Director
The Canadian Canoe Museum
910 Monaghan Road
Peterborough, ON
K9J 5K4 (705) 748-9153

About

The Kandalore Nor'wester Society was established in 1960 at Camp Kandalore by Kirk A.W. Wipper

This Weblog is intended as a virtual meeting place for members of the Kandalore Nor'westers.

Friends of the Kandalore Nor'westers are invited to share memories and stories of past adventures and periodic updates of their current status.

For current and future members, it is hoped that such postings and the follow-up commentary will provide some historical context for a very special period in their lives.