I would like to send out my condolences to family and friends of Mr. Jocelyn Belanger, the man who went through the ice and died at Petrie Island on Monday evening..
I really wanted to create a new post to share my sadness and shock, but my Blog has been acting up these days.
You know, each year around this time I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach when I drive by the huts at Petrie, and I do it almost every day! It is something I used to write about it my Outdoors Column every year..that precarious time between the end of Feb and March 15th when ice-anglers would scramble to get the huts off the ice..unfortunately the threat of fines from the MNR if you don’t remove your hut, makes people do irrational things sometimes..
It is an extremely dangerous time of year and very sad to hear when something terrible like this happens so close to home.
If anyone out there knew Mr Belanger, or has stories they would like to share, I invite you to write-in and share them with us.
He sounded like a really nice guy and I know I personally would like to hear more about how he spent his life…
Outdoorsguy
Paul(Bent hooks) if anyone knew him, you must have?
What a tragic story. My sincerest condolences to family and friends of the Belanger family
My condolences to the Belanger brothers and there family, i knew Jocelyn for the better part of 15 years , he loved life and specially the outdoors, i iced fished with Jocelyn many many times , and i will cherish those times with me forever, the best way to describe Jocelyn is if you were to drop him in the middle of the woods with only a hunting knife he would come out 1 week later 5 pounds heavier and cleaned shaved, he was a great great guy, i am very sad that he is gone, and i will always remember all the good times we shared
love your friend
Doug
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/03/02/ottawa-river-ice-crash-drown.html#ixzz0hAU52SyK
My condolences to the family as well
My condolences to Jocelyn’s family.
I met Jocelyn in December 2009 just before the Christmas holidays, his work brought him to my place of work. I would see Jocelyn just about every weekday during January. When I saw him, he would great me like we had worked together for years.
One morning Jocelyn came into work with a red eye, so I asked him what happened, “Ice fishing” . The dipper for his ice fishing line had caught him in the eye while fishing during the weekend. We went on to talk about ice fishing and I shared some of my ice fishing experiences from weekends back when I iced fished.
I recall with my inquisitive nature, I would ask Jocelyn a question and he wouldn’t just answer, he would fully explain something, he was very personable.
I knew Jocelyn as a really nice guy, and I am sorry to hear that Jocelyn passed away,
Rick Ranger
I am friends with his cousin, and I know how hard it is for them. My prayers go out to all the family and friends. It is such a shame when a life is taken from us before we are prepared….but when is anyone ever prepared for the loss of a loved one.
“To live in hearts we leave behind
Is not to die.”
TO the family and friends of MR. BELANGER we give are condolences >>>>>> THE BENT HOOKS <<<<<<< JEFF we have fished with all his good friends like Richard Leblanc, Steve Barber i can't say if i ever did meet him but then again nobody uses there real names out there any how , this is not a way to loose a freind i know what they are going through as i have lost friends trying to enjoy the sport too . Again he will aways be remembered by every body .
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to write in. I am beginning to see that Jocelyn was really my kind of guy – someone I could have sat down and had a beer with.. and chat about hunting and fishing. He was evidently a very accomplished and dedicated sportsman who made an impact on the people around him…
It is a bloody shame, you know, that this sort of thing can happen, but short of staying off the ice altogether, how can we make this sport safer? I know on big water like Lake Simcoe some of the avid winter anglers use special cars with all the doors removed when travelling on the ice..would that have made a difference for Jocelyn? I’m not sure..
Would changing the rules and regulations for hut registration and removal make a difference? I don’t know that it would..I suppose like the TV show Ice Road Truckers, breaking through the ice is a danger and risk that lurks around every corner…and it just comes with the territory.
Whatever the case, it is heart breaking when a young person is taken suddenly like this and my thoughts go out to all who knew him….as a good friend and an avid sportsman!
Outdoorsguy
To all the Bélanger family, please accept my most heartfelt sympathies for your loss…my thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time. I did not know Jocelyn personally, but all I have ever heard is that he was a sweet, loving and smilling man, like the rest of the family. May the peace which comes from the memories of love shared, comfort you now and in the days ahead. He will be missed a lot… rest assured that i will support your cousin in these tough times, and help him with his grief in any way that I can. Rest in peace PeeWee
I am still in shock and have a hard time believing that my friend is gone. It is with great sadness that I send my condolences to his family and friends for their loss of such a great, intellegent, giving and kind human being. He was teacher of all to all. We use to call him MacIver because of his ability to solve challenges like no other. I remember the kids at my cottage calling him teddybear because of his big smile. I was disappointed to hear his passing as a “stupid mistake”. In my eyes, he died in the selfless manner to which he lived- helping others!
I would like to share one of the many stories PeeWee stories that comes to mind. It was at my cottage one summer and he was there with two semi-pro golfers. They were trying to show him how to drive a golf ball. Perfectionist that he was, he became frustrated because he could not learn to hit the ball quick enough. He finally turned to them and laughed while saying “I might not be able to hit the ball with this club but if you drive it over the lake and I will hit it with my 303 before it lands”.
I am a better person having known him; guaranteed there is a place for him in the skies above.
He will never be forgotten and sadly missed.
Very sad what happened! Terrible lost for family and close friends.
Condoléances.
I knew Jocelyn (PeeWee) thru the boat races.
We all enjoyed his company and enthusiam for hydroplane racing and life in general.
I’ve seen many good people come and go.
We will remeber PeeWee with a smile. Rest in Peace good fellow!
Doug Overbury
Canadian Boating Federation
Having met Pee Wee over 25 yrs ago, I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever met a more geniune person in my lifetime. Funny, intelligent , modest and personable , he was always there to help and lend a hand no questions asked, no return favor expected. Back home in Chelmsford/Sudbury there is nobody who knew him that didn’t like him or consider him a friend.He had a passion for life, a thirst for knowledge and a love for everyone.
His twinkling eyes, that great big smile will be imbedded in the memories of us fortunate to known him
You will be truly missed Joce.
Our deepest sympathies, our thoughts & prayers go to all of you! ..Jocelyn will be truly missed..He was loved by many, he had a big heart, loved life, loved to smile, always there for everyone who needed him, I never had the chance to meet him but knew his brother Serge for years, when Serge called me to inform me that he just lost his brother Jocelyn he was devastated, heart broken asking why? They just lost their father not to long ago & now this..He was not only his brother but his best friend…To their mother who just lost the love of her life her dear husband & now one of her dearest sons in such little time, how tragic….He will never be forgotten, he will remain in our hearts & in our thoughts, memories of Jocelyn will always be cherished within all of us…
No farewell words were spoken
no time to say goodbye
you were gone before we knew it,
and only God knows why.
We only wish we could of said goodbye..
But know that someday we will see you again..
May you find comfort in the memories of your loved one in this difficult time. We are thinking about you in this time of sadness our Deepest Sympathy in Your Time of Sorrow….
May you rest in piece…
I would like to give my condolence to the Belanger family. I would also like to give my condolences to my cousin Puce who was Jocelyn girl friend. I can only imagine how everybody is about the lost of life of this tragic accident. IMy deepest Sympathy in this difficult time.
Rick
I remember Peewee as a very friendly, lively and knowledgeable guy, who loved to rock and roll. I met him through his brother Alain and we hunted and fished together. I always thought that his nickname should have been Butch or Moose because despite his smaller size, he was large as life.
Where ever you are Peewee, I hope the fishing is good!
My heartfelt condolences go out to his brothers Serge and Alain, and his Mom