“ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF LIFE JUST CLOSED”
On September 14, 2023
Glenn was born on June 29, 1938, in Canora, Sask., to Claude and Agnes Rawlings. As his father was in the armed forces, they moved several times. After his dad’s discharge from the Air Force the family took up residence in what was then Fort William, but later moved to Atikokan where his dad operated a painting business. Glenn was excited about this move as he loved the outdoors and in Atikokan he found his calling. He loved to hunt and fish. In fact, he loved it so much that when his parents moved to Thunder Bay in 1950, he elected to stay in Atikokan. Being on his own at 17 years of age had its challenges.
The answer to the challenge was his great interest in fishing. He became a tourist fishing guide, a career he followed for 11 years; most of those at Olson’s Camp Quetico, where Bob and Shirley Olson treated him like a son. And to this day he always calls their daughter Jane “his little sister.”
These years also included running a tourist guide training program for the province. Glenn expanded on this by setting up similar programs in the Eastern and Western Arctic. While employed at the Quetico Centre, he also ran a youth program called “Operation Woodcraft.” It was a self-improvement course based on survival skills in the bush.
Midst all this, he took time off to get married in Rainy River, Ont., to Georgette Parkin in August of 1965, and just recently they celebrated their 58th anniversary.
Once again, his love and enjoyment of the outdoors opened up another avenue. Glenn was contracted by Moreland Latchford Productions of Torontoto produce 26 films on survival in the wilderness. Each film was to have a story line of a person put into an emergency wilderness setting that required survival knowledge. The series proved to be quite popular and parts of them were even used in commercials, one of which was shown during half time at a Grey Cup.
Now, with cash in hand, Glenn started a manufacturing and wholesale business called Quetico Tackle. Over a period of 20 years, the business grew to cover all aspects of sporting goods with a 600-page catalogue. Big names such as Canadian Tire, Sears and Zellers were among the large accounts. A lot of the success can be attributed to the “wagon jobbing” aspect: 3 stock and display trucks covering all dealer outlets in NW Ontario every 3 weeks. Included in the expansion was a large retail store with the slogan “10,000 lures on display… if we don’t have it, it does not work.” This was the slogan that made the business very large.
During this same time period, Glenn took up prospecting. He was successful in locating several mineral deposits and consequently formed two companies, Mining North Explorations and White Lily Lake Gold Mines. He purchased a number of claims from The Atikokan Iron Mines on the shores of Sapawe Lake. This large acreage was renamed Otter Cove Estates and is presently the home of Glenn, Georgette and their German Shepherd dog Morgan.
With success comes stress and Glenn retired from all of these companies in 1985 and dedicated his time to developing Otter Cove into a “landscaped private wilderness park like setting.”
But no wilderness setting is complete without a log cabin, and as usual, Glenn liked the idea so well that he formed a log home company “Pacific Western Log Homes.” This business was run from Otter Cove. In conjunction with this business, he developed a complementary product, Outdoor Furnaces. This endeavour turned into a huge project, with sales outlets across Canada and the U.S.A.
With no more mountains to climb and some of the best fishing in Canada just yards from the front door of his log home at Otter Cove, it was time to finally retire. That was 2002, and his free time was spent perfecting Otter Cove, fishing around the world with friends and acquaintances from all his business ventures and enjoying life with his family of Georgette and their German Shepherd dogs. Glenn was always pleased and proud to give any and everyone a tour of Otter Cove, and to that end he will be honoured by a gathering of friends and family at Otter Cove in the spring.
Glenn was predeceased by his parents Claude Rawlings and Agnes Mckie; his sisters and brothers-in-law Sylvia and Ian Clark, and Harriet and Gilbert Renaud; his nephew Terry Renaud; as well as his in-laws George and Ellen Parkin; his precious dogs Sentry, Cruiser, Guard, Tracker, Raven, Captain and Sargent; and two great friends, Walter Ostapchuk and Dean Sandstoe.
Left to mourn his passing are his wife Georgette; and German shepherd Morgan; his nieces and nephews Brian, Glenda, Janet, Randy and Dale McAuley and their families; Gordon Renaud, Rae Ann Westerback, Wendy Huotari and their families; his fishing buddies Bill Barootes, Julian Fantino, Tony Georgis, Dick Loek, and Mitchell Ostapchuk; and his hunting friends Larry Fontana, Gary Cook, Paul Money and Roger Canon; “his little sister” Jane Gericke; and his summer children Jeff and Kathy Hunter; as well as his great friends Claudette and Dave Bjorkman, who made it possible for Glenn to stay at Otter Cove despite his illness.
As per Glenn’s wishes, cremation has taken place.
If friends and relatives wish, donations can be made in Glenn’s memory to Atikokan General Hospital Foundation or Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation.
Condolences may be made through www.nwfainc.com.
