Wife Debby Carr and Michael Treseng
Image Credit: contributed
May 05, 2015 - 1:30 PM
KAMLOOPS - Michael Treseng died doing what he loved most at Adams Lake, spending time with his family camping and fishing.
His wife, Debby Carr, said he was always teaching his grandchildren gardening and fishing once the 56-year-old Clearwater man retired from a life’s work with Canadian National Railway.
“He was probably the biggest-hearted man you’ll ever meet,” she says.
But last weekend’s camping trip was unlike the others. He and his grandson Jesse, 22, went on a midnight boat ride on the lake near Chase Saturday May 2, but the boat capsized.
"They got out there and I don’t even know how they tipped the boat. They weren’t goofing around,” Carr says.
RCMP said a combination of wind and waves tipped the boat.
Jesse tried helping his grandfather swim to shore, but Treseng knew they both wouldn’t make it, Carr says. Treseng told him to swim to shore without him.
“He wanted to save Jesse, (who) barely made it,” Carr says.
Jesse ran to get help from another family member who was asleep. At first the relative thought it was a prank, but when the two returned to the shoreline, Treseng was gone.
Shuswap Search and Rescue spent the rest of the day searching for Treseng. An RCMP dive team located him on Sunday morning.
“We were hoping he would make it to shore,” Carr says.
She says that was just who he was—the kind of man who would put others before himself.
“He was the best grampa to his kids. The love of my life. The friend of my life,” Carr says.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
— This story was edited for clarity at 3 p.m.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015