George Alexander (d. 2000)

Au Sable fly fishing guide, judge, war hero, conservationist, chef George W. ("Heap") Alexander III, 69, died February 23, in an Ann Arbor hospital where he’d been a patient for around five weeks. It was the first time he’d ever spent a night in a hospital.

[Read North Woods Call editor Glen Sheppard's tribute,
George,
in The Riverwatch - Issue #34.]

Though George served the Anglers of the Au Sable as director for only six years (five of which were as vice president), he contributed vastly to the organization's underpinnings. For many years, George used his negotiating powers and knowledge of people to further the Angler's causes in a variety of forums, both official and casual. Always seeming to be on the go, George could be counted onto get the tactical business of the organization done, and done well—especially during the busy season when president Rusty Gates was keeping Gates Au Sable Lodge at full tilt.

Along with Bernie Fowler, George founded what we call The Rapid Response Tree Recovery Project. The pair would be ready at a moment's notice to respond to a fallen tree in one of the Au Sable's three branches, recovering the tree for residual use as trout cover or bank stabilization. This project, which kept the two on the run for the better part of seven years, won them the Riverkeepers of the Year for 1997. George was a regular contributor to The Riverwatch.

For all that he was to the river, for all that was to those who were close and dear to him, for all those that he touched in his unique way, George Alexander will be sorely missed as a sportsman, conservationist and friend.

[Read Dick Daane's tribute to his great friend,
George W. ("Heap") Alexander III: A Personal Memoir,
in The Riverwatch - Issue #34.]

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Bill Halliday (d. 1997)

Bill Halliday was a lifelong champion of the Au Sable and its rich rewards. Though he served the Anglers as director for only five years (1992 - 1997), he was an ardent conservationist who was instrumental in the success of Trout Unlimited's George Mason Chapter. His extensive business background in the computer and banking industries gave him the world-wise strategic view so often required in conservation efforts. And his easygoing, approachable manner made him a natural for advancing our agendas at meetings that were sometime contentious.

Bill died on October 18 after a brief but fierce battle with lung cancer. His cabin on the Au Sable's mainstream is still used by his wife, Beverly Lowrie, and his extended family of children and grandchildren. The Anglers lost an Au Sable guardian when Bill Halliday left for brighter waters.

[Read Ed McGlinn's tribute,
William James Halliday, River Advocate,
in The Riverwatch - Issue #27.]

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Bill Lippert (d. 1991)

Bill Lippert, a dear friend to many champions of the Au Sable, died February 5, 1991 after a seven month long battle with lung cancer. He was a founding director of the Anglers and was always a team player for some of the Anglers earliest projects, including sponsorship of the 1988 GLC Conclave in Roscommon. Bill hailed from Barberton, Ohio, where he and his wife, Nancy, operated the family truck sales and repair business.

After retiring in 1981, Bill and Nancy sold the fifth wheel they used for vacations and purchased a cottage along Big Creek in Lovells Township. They christened their new home Wind Knots Lodge and it was here that Bill took up wood carving, an interest he'd had ever since childhood. He also was a voracious reader, reading all of Hemingway as well as books on psychology, philosophy and even the occasional book on fly tying. Though Bill was a promising carver and an avid golfer, he true passion was fly fishing, especially for large fish during the late evening hatches in June and July. (Among the directors at the time, Bill held the unofficial record for a caught and released brown trout, a 24-inch lunker caught on a Muddler Minnow in the first hole below the Upper High Banks stretch of the South Branch.

Never a self-promoter, Bill was content to work behind the scenes, Retirement and living in the Grayling area afforded him the time to work on little projects he and Rusty Gates would cook up. It was people like Bill Lippert that were the backbone of the Anglers' early years, where wisdom, an unselfish willingness to do the tedious work without complaint, and a quick smile to break the tensions of spirited debate during our board meetings were both welcome and enjoyable personal qualities.

Though his beloved wife Nancy passed away in January 1998, the spirit of Wind Knots Lodge lives on and is enjoyed by their two sons, Robin and Chuck, and their families, as well as a grateful few friends.

[Read Dan Drislane's memories of his fishing partner, Putzing Around with Bill ]

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Chauncy K. Lively (d. 2000)

Founding director and world class fly fisherman and fly tyer Chauncy K. Lively succumbed to complications from pneumonia on February 24, 2000, not 24 hours after another esteemed director, George Alexander, also died. Chauncy was 81.

It is hard to describe a man who has given so vastly, so deeply to the sport of fly fishing—all for the sheer hobby-love that it was for the man that many fly fishing professionals call the best trout fly tyer ever. Beginning his flyfishing odyssey in the late 1940s, Chauncy first came to the Au Sable region at the invitation of esteemed rob maker Paul Young. Chauncy and Paul had corresponded frequently after Chauncy purchased several rods from the Michigan craftsman. Trips to the Au Sable increased throughout the '60s and early '70s. When Chauncy retired as a mortgage officer in 1974, he and his wife Marion purchased property on a bluff overlooking prime lower North Branch water and built their retirement home.

Chauncy wrote frequently about his exploits along the Au Sable for publications such as Pennsylvania Angler, American Fly Tyer and the Angler's The Riverwatch. His prose was informative, lucid and full of rich anecdotes. He was the author of the acclaimed Chauncy Lively's Flybox, a study of Chauncy's proven fly patterns that is in its third printing from Stackpole Books. Flybox highlights another of Chauncy's creations: his floating fly macro-photography. Chauncy's fly patterns were featured in prized collections and museums around the world. In 1992, he graciously volunteered four of his artisinal creations for the Dry Flies plate of the Anglers of the Au Sable Commemorative Fishing Flies of the Au Sable. (This editor knows that Chauncy's worsening cataracts at the time forced him to tie each of the chosen four patterns very slowly. It took over two weeks to tie the 112 separate flies for the 28 limited plates.)

In his 13-year service to the board of directors, Chauncy was considered the sage of the group and very knowledgeable on water ecology and aquatic biology. When he wasn't working on a new fly pattern or reporting for The Riverwatch, Chauncy was often consumed with his other passion, classical music. Having been a musician since his teen years, Chauncy earned a living as a musician and arranger in the U.S. Army and for many years in the entertainment, radio and recording industry. His love of the classical composers ("long hairs" he jokingly called them) stemmed from this early exposure to '20s jazz and Big Band music.

Though it is hard for anyone who didn't know Chauncy intimately to grasp the forthcoming notion, Chauncy owned a unique ability to marry his passions—his wife, his children, his granddaughter, his music, his rivers, his fishing, his photography, his fly crafting—into a continuum of joy that he gently let rain down upon all who were part of his life. He was a giant of a man who walked in a gentleman's shoes and who spoke with dignity and grace. Sadly, there are not many like Chauncy Lively left in this world. For all that he was, the Anglers (and this editor especially) shall miss him greatly.

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If you have an interest in serving on the board or wish to know more about any of the directors, please contact Rusty Gates at gator@freeway.net.

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© Copyright 2001, Anglers of the Au Sable, Inc. All rights reserved. Last modified 19 February 2001.