Skip to content

Riverside memorial planned for Shuswap man

Fundraiser underway to build picnic table honouring Rene St. Onge
16255073_web1_copy_190410-SAA-Rene-St.-Onge

A fundraising effort is underway to honour the late Rene St. Onge with a picnic table along Shuswap River in Enderby.

“Many communities in the North Okanagan knew, respected and admired Rene for his knowledge and zest for this beautiful area both summer and winter. We would like to place a picnic table in his memory at the south end of the river walk in Enderby beside the Shuswap River he loved so much,” a GoFundMe page for the project reads.

Read More: Province to decide fate of Eagle Pass lookout

Read More: Lack of public transit limiting access to medical care

St. Onge died in a snowmobile accident in Dec. 2018.

Pat Weaver, one of the organizers of the bench project who met St. Onge while working with a group to keep the Shuswap River open to recreational boat use, described St. Onge as an avid waterskier and a tremendously helpful individual.

“He’d do anything for anybody; if somebody got lost on a snowmobile up there, he’d be gone in a heartbeat to find them,” Weaver said.

Read More: Grandmother wears firefighting boots

Read More: Okanagan-Shuswap weather: Pack your umbrella, rainy day alert

Any funds left over after the construction of the picnic table will be passed on to Shuswap Backcountry Riders, an organization St. Onge was president of.

At press time, the GoFundMe campaign had raised $1,000 of its $1,600 goal.


@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter



Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
Read more