richard proenneke obituary
about Richard Proenneke When is his birthday? He fished, hunted, gathered, and raised his own food, but he would fly in supplies occasionally. a What is Richard's ethnicity and where did his parents, grandparents & great-grandparents come from? Cassandra Faye Shaffer Obituary. Proenneke spent the next several years working throughout Alaska as both a salmon fisherman and diesel technician. Who were the people in Richard's life? Richard L. Proenneke - National Park Service To read One Mans Wilderness is to be swept into a slower, simpler world. Was I equal to everything this wild land could throw at me? he wrote in his diary. More than once he verbally confronted them over leaving behind trash or useable meat. Alone in the Wilderness PBS DVD - Dick Proenneke Monroe Robinson's "The Handcrafted Life of Dick Proenneke" is a treasure and complement to the story of Alaska's . Richard Louis Proenneke died on Easter morning, 2003, in Hemet, Calif. Dick Proenneke and His Legacy Self-sufficient as he was, Dick was always dependent on the outside world. The Biography section is collaborative, where we work together to present the facts. These records include but are not limited to obituary care and filing for lee county, contiguous counties, and local Illinois and Missouri obituaries. Apart from a replica of his cabin, the exhibit also features some of his writings and other artifacts. View images of Proenneke's cabin and of the beautiful Twin Lakes area where he built his wilderness home. Proenneke continued to vacation with them at their cabin on Upper Twin Lake in subsequent years. Fish On: Use These Simple Lessons to Catch More Fish! I first met Dick in the summer of 1979. Not that he was ever a troubled man, but a lifetime spent working on parts instead of the whole project was not his cup of tea. Richard Louis Proenneke (/prnki/) was an American self-educated naturalist, conservationist, writer, and wildlife photographer who, from the age of about 51, lived alone for nearly thirty years (1969-1999) in the mountains of Alaska in a log cabin that he constructed by hand near the shore of Twin Lakes. I first met Dick in 1986 when my former husband Gary Titus and I bought one of the two private property in-holdings on upper Twin Lakes, across from Dicks place. Richard M. Schneider, 68, of Kenney, Illinois left this world and entered heaven on April 19, 2023. Although he would make a full recovery, he would never forget how weak and helpless his illness left him. Wed always check in with Dick whenever we were up there. Finally, Will asked, What are you going to do?, Dick replied, Oh, Im going to go visit a seamstress. He handed his clipboard to Will, turned toward the lake and took off. More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L They didnt cost me a lot of money either. At this age, Proennekes longing for a quiet life had to contend with his passion for gadgetry. Eventually, large swaths of the diaries, more than 250 steno pads in all, were published in three edited volumes, and several filmmakers used footage Proenneke had shot in biographical movies. Today, Twin Lakes is best known for being Proennekes private retirement home. In a feat one can only chalk up to adrenaline, he managed to walk to the highway where a passing motorist picked him up. A view of the cabin and raised storage shed from the lake. Invite family and friends to share what they know about Richard L Proenneke. Dick first visited Upper Twin Lake in 1962 at the invite of his friends Spike and Hope Carrithers of Kodiak, Alaska. Using simple handheld tools, many of which hed fashioned himself, he constructed a log cabin on the edge of Upper Twin Lake and went on to live in his expertly crafted home, alone, for the next 30 years. You have to take care of your feet.. Richard Proenneke - Wikipedia You can read this and other stories about history, nature, culture, art, conservation, travel, science and more in National Parks magazine. . You use of this website constitutes and manifests your acceptance of our, (Photo by Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, H-2190, catalog number LACL 3512, photo by Richard Proenneke), (Photo by Lake Clark National Park Service), (Photo by Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, catalog number LACL 2166, photo by Richard Proenneke), (Photo by Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, H-2167, catalog number LACL 3512, photo by Richard Proenneke), (Photo by Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, H-2342, catalog number LACL 3512, photo by Richard Proenneke), ENTER TO WIN: Free Gun Friday > Springfield Armory Hellion 5.56 Rifle * Trijicon RMR Red Dot * Black Hills Ammo *. PO Box 227 We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. Sadly, I missed his birthday, but I did get up to see him a week later. Astonished, Will asked, Well how did you do that?. Proenneke lived at Twin Lakes (now in Lake Clark National Park) intermittently from 1967 to 1999 in the log cabin he built. The world is full of such things., Proenneke left Twin Lakes in 1998, when he was 82, to move in with his brother in California. We've counted the ballots, and we're excited and impressed by you, the My agency only authorizes duty weapons for off-duty carry. Dick seemed more frail than Id seen him before, but we still took a hike up to see the Balancing Rock. In 1978, he was featured in the PBS documentary Alaska: The Closing Frontier, where he advocated preservation and quoted Thoreau: In wildness is the preservation of the world.. I considered it an honor to have met and spent some time with this remarkable man. A nature lover, Proenneke soon gave up his career as an engineer to work at a sheep ranch in Oregon, and later relocated to Shuyak Island, Alaska, in 1950. . I think we both recognized we were on the same side concerning the protection and preservation of the wildlife and natural resources in the new park site. As Proenneke's friend and journal editor John Branson writes: "Proenneke was a keen observer of wildlife and the natural world, but he was also an astute observer of human nature." The Early Years: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke, 1967-1973, More Readings From One Man's Wilderness: The Journals of Richard L. Proenneke, 1974-1980. His journals and videos were used with permission in the documentary, 'Alone in the Wilderness', which aired on television in 2004. Following his discharge from the Navy, Proenneke went to school to become a diesel mechanic. Proenneke completed primary school in Primrose, but left high school after two years because he did not enjoy it. A Dutch journalist living in Atlanta, Tim Brinkhof graduated from New York University, where he studied modern history at the graduate level. Proenneke hunted, fished, raised and gathered much of his own food, and also had supplies flown in occasionally. With its bone-stabbing cold, its ghostly silence? We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. I asked him why he was using intestines for bait. Proenneke was a tireless writer, documenting his observations in a series of journals that span nearly 30 years. He had suffered severe damage to his lower spine and numerous lacerations to his face. Proenneke's friend, bush pilot and missionary Leon Reid "Babe" Alsworth, returned periodically by seaplane or ski-plane to bring mail, food and orders that Proenneke placed through him to Sears.[7]. So his clock was behind mine. Dick Proenneke looking down Glacier Canyon toward Twin Lakes. [5][6], Proenneke's cabin is handmade and is notable for its fine craftsmanship as a result of his carpentry and woodworking skills; he also made 8mm films covering its construction. . Learn More About Dick Proenneke's Life at Upper Twin Lake. Six months later, he was discharged from both the hospital and the army. They didn't cost me a lot of money either. He and Will Troyer, a park wildlife biologist, were in the middle of a caribou calf count at Turquoise Lake. He went with the intent of raising cattle on Kodiak Island but it was not to be. F.A.Q. He writes 'I just want someone who knows how to live life to its fullest to show me how to stay alive,' end of quote. Proenneke's father, William Christian Proenneke (18801972), served in World War I, and made his living as a house painter, carpenter and well driller. A welding accident that nearly cost Proenneke his eyesight proved the last straw. One day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Proenneke enlisted in the Navy. The Unbelievable Story Of Dick Proenneke, The Man Who Lived Alone In The Alaskan Wilderness For 30 Years. Today, Proennekes slower, simpler lifestyle remains an inspiration to many. Dick's wilderness ethic was simple: "Twin Lakes and the wildlife therein should not suffer for his presence.". [1]:xiii According to one of his biographers and friend, Sam Keith, the illness was very revealing for Proenneke, who decided to devote the rest of his life to the strength and health of his body. The site is a popular attraction for many who want to personally experience parts of Proenneke's life and values. Flying solo in his Piper Cub, he was luckyto be in sight of a road when the engine cut out. Tributes From Chris Degernes I first met Dick in 1986 when my former husband Gary Titus and I bought one of the two private property in-holdings on upper Twin Lakes, across from Dick's place. It was the last time he would walk unassisted for another six months. Port Alsworth, It pleased him to see hunting pressure ease on his wild neighbors.. In this edition readers find him going about his daily chores, documenting wildlife behavior, and . High-level park administrators, although well intentioned, can sometimes seem a bit arrogant. Dick Proenneke spent several years in the Alaskan city of Kodiak before moving up to Twin Lakes. Add family and friends whose lives he impacted. We continued to exchange letters for a few more years, even as Dicks health failed more and more. Proenneke has often been referred to as a hermit, alone and isolated and cut off from any type of contact. I grew up here in Alaska. Edited by Keith, it was re-issued on its 26th anniversary in 1999, which won the 'National Outdoor Book Award' (NOBA) that year. Bob Swerer produced the video "The Frozen North" in 2006. For the time being, he decided to move north, where the forests were. If we checked in at 10 a.m., it was only 8 a.m. for him. Alan and Laurel Bennett knew Proenneke from their time working at Lake Clark, and after they retired, they served as volunteer guides at his cabin for six years. He always liked to have people get pictures of themselves looking out through the top of the Dutch door of his cabin. (He never had valid title to the land, but some park administrators consider the cabin a gift nonetheless.). Next, he used his knife to cut a narrow wedge-shaped piece of metal out of that beer can, and he rolled it up tight in the shape of a needle. We would just show up, and if he was there, Dick would give us a little tour of his place, explain his daily routine and pose for pictures. He returned to Twin Lakes the following spring and remained there for most of the next thirty years, traveling to the contiguous United States only occasionally to visit his family. Did Richard serve in the military or did a war or conflict interfere with his life? Publisher: Friends of Donnellson Public Library Way back up. In 1987, by the time he was 71 years old, on October 19th, stock exchanges around the world crashed. I think of Dick as a kindred spirit. Keiths book, One Mans Wilderness, was published in 1973 and introduced Dick to the world. When did he die? The cabin is a popular attraction of Lake Clark National Park. Writer Sam Keith, Richard Proenneke's friend at the Kodiak Naval Station, once mentioned that his illness had worked like an eye-opener for him and shifted his focus on building bodily strength. Without a doubt, Dick Proenneke's One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey is as memorable and captivating as any I've read in my five decades of reading. The film was released in 2004, one year after Proennekes death. The average age of Betty Sue died from complications of emphysema in Waverly, Tennessee. Dick captured much of his famous cabin build on film. Suite 700 Proenneke built his cabin using only hand tools, many of which he fashioned himself. Everything that came in he either hauled back out or re-proposed in some form or another. As with More Readings From One Man's Wilderness, the volume is edited by John Branson. If the jays hadnt already been drawn in by the sight and voices of lodge guests milling around the cabin, Dick would call them. The National Park Service sought protected status for the Twin Lakes region that would limit hunting to subsistence only. Proenneke would stomp out a runway for pilots during the winter. One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey Is Nature Writing At Its Best Dick lived his life at Twin Lakes with the same spirit he used to build his cabin, with purposeful intent. After they left, I asked Dick, So howd it go? He instantly lit into them. Richard's birthday is in 44 days. . Learn who Richard was, about his 30 years of homesteading in Alaska, and see a lifesized replica of his Alaskan cabin. Unable to restart the iced-up engine, he made a forced landing outside of Copper Center, Alaska. In 1969, Dick turned over his journals to friend Sam Keith. PO Box 227 Keith Glen Proenneke (1941-2011) - Find a Grave Memorial I was one of 19 rangers from the Lower 48 who had been selected and sent to Alaska to watch over the new Park Service monuments covering 48 million acres that had been designated by President Jimmy Carter. Needless to say, Proennekes cabin didnt come with easy access to electricity. Richard Proenneke - the Man Who Spent 30 Years in The Alaskan Wilderness Proenneke wrote regularly in his journal; he filled hundreds of steno pads, many of which the Park Service now owns. Despite his remote location and fierce independence, Dick was not a hermit; he maintained friendships and wrote back to anyone who sent him a letter. Richard was excited about getting back to Twin Lakes spending nine weeks on this trip in 1965. But he also wanted to prove something to himself. He took some line and threw it in the lake with a hook, and then we headed up behind his cabin. For Dick Proenneke, starting a new life out in the wilderness was about fulfilling a childhood dream. A master craftsman dedicated to living simply on the land, he used local materials, simple tools, and human ingenuity to craft a home and life in keeping with the wilderness. Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin on the shore of Twin Lakes. He was a good friend and I miss our friendship and letter exchanges. When I moved back north to Alaska in 1992 to work as the pilot for a fishing lodge, Id frequently take guests to see Dick. Help paint a picture of Richard so that he is always remembered. Dick certainly possessed the skillset to survive, but more importantly he had the mindset that allowed him to thrive. we begin to show & tell who our loved ones were during particular moments in their lives. "I have found that some of the simplest things have given me the most pleasure. By the next summer he was back in Alaska. To purchase a copy of Dick Proenneke: Reflections on a Through the 1980s, Dick would spend more and more time with his journals, documenting everything he noticed in his graceful cursive script. We stopped in at his cabin but without Dick there, it lacked everything that made it special to me. Richard Louis Proenneke 1916 - 2003 . I met Dick Proenneke in 1982 when I was a seasonal park ranger on my first summer assignment in Alaska. when he died at the age of 86. He inherited his craftiness from his father William, a carpenter and well driller. In 1995, when he was 79 years old, on October 16th, the Million Man March took place on the National Mall in Washington DC. Richard Proenneke, whose friends called him Dick, is an icon of wilderness values and an inspiration to those who value simplicity, direct connection with nature, self-reliance, and ingenuity. Richard Proenneke Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life Unfortunately, he contracted rheumatic fever while hiking a mountain near San Francisco, following which he was hospitalized at Norco Naval Hospital.
richard proenneke obituary