[JPTolson]

I am extremely shocked and saddened to learn that our good friend and fellow paddler, Ron Eells, has passed away. Our club has lost a great asset.

Ron exuded The River, and he approached the sport of paddling with true professionalism. We could see this in how would strive to teach new and not-so-new boaters the correct way to paddle. We could see it in how he conducted himself on our trips–always wearing a helmet in his whitewater kayak regardless of a river’s difficulty, never cutting corners on safety, and always working to perfect his own strokes. Over the time that Ron belonged to Trumbull Canoe Trails, I believe that he elevated significantly the collective paddling skills and river sense of the club. Mike Danko credits Ron with a decrease in the frequency of boaters flipping on our trips. Personally, I always felt more confidence hitting the water when Ron was along.

I feel blessed and privileged to have shared the river with Ron during his last paddling trip–a run down Little Beaver Creek from Sprucevale to Ohioville in early March. I can still see him sitting calmly in the eddy below Eagle Rapid as I clunked through a clumsy, paddle-switching left turn to hit the slot on river left, wondering what he must have been thinking.

We could all see that Ron was struggling in the past few years when he was not in his kayak, but, true to TCT tradition, everyone was happy to help him in and out of his boat. He seemed determined to carry on. I hope you are now resting peacefully in that big heavenly eddy, my friend. You will be greatly missed.