LAKEPORT — A man described as an “all-around good person,” died on Saturday night following a tragic solo-boat crash in Lakeport. Sheriff”s dispatch received the call at 7:54 p.m., according to Sheriff Rod Mitchell.
Byron Whipple, 54, called his brother Casey to pick him up and never arrived at the meeting point.
“I saw a helicopter and then the blue light of the sheriff patrol,” Casey said. ” I was always afraid of Byron drowning, because he was strapped into the wheelchair.”
Byron was injured more than 20 years ago during a waterskiing race on Clear Lake, which eventually rendered him an “incomplete quadriplegic,” according to Casey.
Byron”s 25-foot patio boat inexplicably crashed into a dock by the Lucky Four Resort in Lakeport. He had just dropped friends off at TNT Restaurant and was heading in for the night. There was a party going on at the dock, but according to witnesses, most of the people had left. Five or so people were on the dock when the boat hit.
“If there were more people in the world like him, it would be a much better world, Casey said tearfully. “Byron said if he was going to die, he wanted to do it on the water.”
Byron”s lifelong friend Bob Funderburg said Byron was always uplifting, never had a complaint and he never heard him say a bad word about anybody.
“If you ever felt sorry yourself, you could just look at Byron, he always told me, ?I”m hurt, but if I had it to do all over again, I”d do it again.” He never felt sorry for himself,” Funderburg said.
Byron owned City Center Realty in Lakeport. A flood of e-mails and phone calls were received at the Record-Bee following his death, each packed with the same sentiments about what an amazing person he was.
“Byron Whipple was a real good person to everybody,” CEO of Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Melissa Fulton said. “I”m not aware of anybody who didn”t think highly of him.”
Funderburg said, “You could always see him zooming up and down Main Street in his wheelchair. He was always looking for a faster wheelchair, too.”
The Whipples have lived in Lake County for more than 45 years. Byron attended Clear Lake High School. He was class president, he played football, baseball and ran track.
Funderburg said he used to race dirt bikes and snow ski aside from achieving champion status in waterskiing with both the Nor Cal Boat and Ski Club and the Southern California Boat and Ski Club. He was a waterskier for the U.S. Ski team at the World Championships in Australia.
His friends and family said he was independent and continued to travel.
Casey said Byron only needed help get out of bed in the morning and getting into bed at night. “He had the will of 20 people. He wouldn”t let anything get in his way,” Casey said. “Byron used to say when the stem-cell issue came up, he”d be the first Guinea pig. He wanted to walk so bad.”
Byron ran his business with the use of one hand and a computer, five days a week, and was out on the lake every weekend.
“On a personal note, it was a privilege for me to know him. I respected him for his perseverance. He was just a classy guy, as far as I”m concerned,” Mitchell said.
Fulton wrote in an e-mail, “I first met Byron when we joined the (then) Lakeport Chamber of Commerce, I believe he was president at that time. He was a gentleman who never stopped caring for his community. Many years ago Byron was an avid ski racer, an excellent athlete, who was severely injured in a ski racing accident. I believe it had something to do with the way skiers used to hold the tow line, but I”m not sure. Byron, when I met him, was in the real estate business with his mother and was the epitome of a community supporter in all ways. He did not let his disabilities caused by the accident to keep him down, in business or in life. His resolution, in spite of those disabilities, to be a contributor to family and society is a lesson for anyone who suffers setbacks such as he did. May God be with his family and friends at this time.”
Nancy O”Rourke worked with Byron for 18 years. She said anytime any person or organization asked for anything, Byron never turned them away. Each time an escrow closed, $100 was placed in a charity fund.
“He did countless things to help people and the community, including giving away 125 turkeys to anyone who said they needed them around Thanksgiving, no questions asked,” O”Rourke said.
Byron supported Westshore Vikings Youth Football every year and gave scholarships to youth who couldn”t afford the program.
“All five of us women would sometimes sit around and complain about this or that, as people sometimes do, and then we would pause, knowing that Byron never complained and we stopped,” O”Rourke said.
Carol Cooper, who has worked with Byron since 1991 said, “He taught us life lessons that no one else could better teach. I wish I could tell you just what Byron is, but, I can”t because he”s just too many things to too many people.”
Mandy Feder can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or call her directly at 263-56-36 ext. 32.
