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Joined: Sep 2002
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I thought I would post this since SCI and G&Os in British Columbia take so many hits here. It is amazing what some people will do to make a stranger feel better. If only for a few days.
by TED CLARKE
Prince George Citizen staff
Jonathan Kerr never got to sleep on his bear skin rug.
The 10-year-old boy died Thursday while flying back to his home in Kennesaw, Ga., less than two days after his father Bruce shot the bear while on a hunting trip in Prince George. The plane was 40 minutes away from Atlanta when the terminally-ill Jonathan succumbed to liver cancer, a disease he had battled for three years.
It was Jonathan's dying wish to hunt bear in British Columbia. The week-long trip was made possible by Prince George outfitters Scott and Lynn Pichette and Thom Halligan of Safari Club International (SCI), who made the necessary arrangements through the SCI Safari Wish Program. Jonathan and his father Bruce spent five days hunting on or near the Pichette's guiding territory east of Prince George, which extends to the Bowron Lakes.
"The little boy was sick, and there was no way he was going to beat this cancer thing, no way," said Halligan, from his home in Gig Harbor, Wash. "I saw the progression (of the disease) in the 10 days he was with me and he was getting worse."
During the seven-day hunt, Jonathan saw plenty of bear and did get one shot off. But when it became apparent he was too weak to hold a gun, let alone shoot it, Halligan purchased a license and hunting tag for Bruce Kerr, who shot and killed a bear last Tuesday, the day before they made the 12-hour drive back to Washington State. The bear was butchered in Prince George, the meat was frozen, and Halligan made the arrangements to have the hide prepared and made into a rug, which will be sent to the Kerr family in Kennesaw as soon as it's ready.
"That bear rug's going to be around for a long time, and that was probably the finest time together Jonathan and his father ever spent, because it was totally them, doing something they wanted to do, hunt, and that's something that really memorable to Bruce," said Halligan.
Jonathan died Thursday, and his funeral was on Sunday. At the time his travel arrangements were made, the plan was to fly from Seattle to Charleston, West Virginia, where Jonathan's mother Sheila was visiting family members. The Kerrs were then going to drive back to Kennesaw, 30 kilometres north of Atlanta.
"The one I feel sorry for is Sheila -- she said goodbye to her son, to have a good time, and she didn't realize that she was really saying goodbye to him," said Halligan.
"I'll remember Jonathan for his courage and determination and his will to live and I think this trip gave him and his family five months more of life. When he found out he was going bear hunting in B.C. he told everybody in the state of Georgia who was willing to listen. Maybe we did buy him and family some time."
Halligan and the Pichettes, who are also SCI members, want to provide a hunting trip every year for somebody they meet through the SCI Safari Wish Program. Halligan said it will now be called the Jonathan Kerr Memorial Safari Wish Program.
He'll arrange to send to the Pichettes a .306 calibre rifle designed with smaller kids in mind, to be left for future Safari Wish Program hunters who come to Prince George. The gun will have a muzzle break and be equipped with low-recoil ammunition to help lessen the impact of firing a shot.
The Delta Airlines flight crew who attended to Jonathan at the time of his death planned to attend his funeral in Kennesaw and promised Halligan they would try to arrange for free flights for the children and their families. Halligan also met a conservation officer in Prince George who is seeking permission from his office to have the necessary licenses and tags donated. Halligan would like SCI to make the trip happen three or four times a year.
"This is the venue I've chosen to pursue, and I'm not dealing with athletes, I'm dealing with terminally-ill or critically-ill children and I'm going to lose some of them, so this has to keep going," said Halligan.
"I've learned so much from this trip because of Jonathan, and I can make it easier for those who follow me (organizing similar trips) so they don't have to reinvent the wheel to get this done. It's a sad thing, but good things will come of it."
PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN
Last edited by mickey; 06/10/07.
Mickey
"Instead of getting married again I am just going to find a women I don't like and give her a house"
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Joined: Aug 2005
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
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Thanks for posting...
I thank the Good Lord for every day I have on this place...
Touching story...
- Greg
Success is found at the intersection of planning, hard work, and stubbornness.
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Thanks Mickey...
best,
bhtr
"You've been here longer than the State of Alaska is old!"
*** my Grandaughters
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Joined: Feb 2003
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What I found interesting was this:
"The Kerrs are from Kennesaw, Ga., known as Gun Town, U.S.A., after a city ordinance was passed in 1982 which requires the head of every Kennesaw household to own and maintain a loaded firearm."
Wonderful the Father & Son had those final days together in such a manner. Kudos to all involved!!
Larry *********** "Speed is fine but accuracy is final" - Bill Jordan "We do not exaggerate when we state positively that the remodelled Springfield is the best and most suitable "all 'round" rifle".......Seymour Griffin, GRIFFIN & HOWE, Inc. 
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Scott and Lynn Pichette and Thom Halligan have done a wonderful thing; they are to be commended and I am sure they have been blessed greatly by God for doing this. Odessa
One of the sanest, surest, and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others.
Archibald Rutledge
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