A Fort McPherson man who died during a hunting trip over Labour Day weekend is being remembered as a “funny and loving” man who took pride in his traditional way of life.
Forty-year-old William Thompson was found dead on Sept. 2 near kilometre 465 of the Dempster Highway.
Thompson's body was discovered following an overnight, blizzard-hampered search launched after he didn't return from a caribou hunting trip on the Yukon side of the NWT/Yukon border the night before, according to the Yukon Coroner’s Service.
“William was fun-loving …very active and very lively. He was always doing good – an all around good man,” said Thompson's god sister Diane Koe, of Fort McPherson, in phone interview with News/North last week.
Growing up together in Fort McPherson, Koe said Thompson was a playful trickster, often playing pranks on his four brothers and god sisters.
“We were the sisters he never had,” remembered Koe.
Forty-year-old William Thompson, of Fort McPherson, who died during a recent caribou hunting trip, is being remembered by family as a fun-loving man who passed along his traditional skills for the betterment of his community.
A “jack of all trades,” Thompson used his traditional skills to give back to the community, she said.
“Any time he was called upon to be part of something, he never turned anyone away. He was always helping.”
Koe said Thompson, a skilled carpenter and experienced trapper, would pass on his traditional, on-the-land skills – taught to him by his parents – to young people in the community, often through school workshops.
“What he gave out in his short life is what he got back in the past few days,” said Koe.
When Thompson was reported as overdue, Koe said the community immediately banded together to help.
“Within an hour there were people getting their Ski-Doos ready and just rushing around,” she recalled.
Members of the search party worked through a blizzard, which dumped 20 to 25 cm of snow, overnight.
The next day, not long after news of Thompson's death had spread, Koe said community members had already packed into the late man's house, offering “prayers and support.”
“It's difficult, but we have a lot of support,” said Koe.
Even people from outside of Fort McPherson rallied behind her and her family, added Koe.
Residents raised $8,000 and a sing-along group from Inuvik is set to visit the community.
“We even got donations as far as White Horse,” said Koe.
“The (help) makes us feel so good because they're doing everything they can to help the family. We just want to thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts,” said Koe.
“I just want people to remember William for who he really was. He was a traditional Gwich'in man who was funny and loving,” she said.
The Yukon Coroner’s Service, with the help of Fort McPherson RCMP, is leading the investigation into Thompson's death.
A funeral will be held in Fort McPherson today.
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