Today was a sad day on the river. I was paddling from below the Sinks to
above the Elbow. We had a fellow Canadian paddler drown in river after coming
out of his boat above the Sinks section and getting stuck under water for
thirty minutes.
This is from a article in the local newspaper:
This is from a article in the local newspaper:
There’s a lot that Dr. Steven Senior loved, loved to do, and an awful lot that he was good at.
He loved to paddle, and
loved the challenge of white-water canoeing.
He loved basketball, meeting
and challenging friends and colleagues to the odd pick-up game. When he wasn’t
playing he was volunteering with the basketball community. He served as the
coordinator for the Peterborough Youth Basketball League, acted as spokesman
for Peterborough Power (an association of three all-girls basketball teams) and
coached for several teams.
He loved to run, to cycle,
to learn, to spend time with his children and to care for his patients.
Cataloguing everything Dr.
Senior did and excelled at would create a pretty long list.
His family, friends,
colleagues and patients gathered at Lakefield United Church Tuesday to say
goodbye to the man who practised medicine in Lakefield for more than 30 years.
Every seat in the church was
taken. Some stood at the side of the church for the duration of the service,
while others sat in the basement and watched the memorial service on
televisions.
Dr. Senior died March 11.
According to media reports he was white-water canoeing in Tennessee when his
canoe capsized and he was swept downstream. He was pulled out of the water
after 30 minutes and was pronounced dead at a hospital later that night.
Canoeing was a life-long
passion of his, something several of his friends addressed during Tuesday’s
service.
Dorian Foley, reading aloud
from a statement on behalf of his father Mark Foley, said the life-long friends
began canoeing together when they were in their teens.
They began taking
white-water trips, shooting the Abitibi River, opting to stay on the water and
navigate the waters while others portaged.
Dr. Senior sat in the bow,
Foley stated, his expert jabs and cross bow rudder tricks getting their canoe
through some tight spots.
Dr. Sandy Cunningham was
supposed to get together with Dr. Senior to watch college basketball when Dr.
Senior cancelled to go canoeing in Tennessee.
Cunningham, addressing
mourners at the service, said Dr. Senior was well-trained and well-prepared to
take that final run March 11.
“I know when he stared that
run he knew what he was doing,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham described Dr.
Senior as a man who loved competition, but had an even greater appreciation for
amateur sports and athletics.
Dr. Senior played for
University of Ottawa’s basketball team, the Gee-Gees.
Dr. Bill Oburn met Dr.
Senior years ago on a basketball court.
The two watched the current
version of the Gee-Gees win the provincial championships March 2, Oburn said,
the last time they spent together.
He said he once asked Dr.
Senior what medicine he preferred to specialize in, assuming his old friend
would respond with “sports medicine.”
He was wrong.
“He told me, I most prefer
to work with seniors,” Oburn said. “I can do a little thing and make a huge
difference in the quality of their life.”
