Remembering Pete

On August 25, 2023, the world lost a great man. 

He wasn’t famous. He wasn’t infamous, but he had friends both online and in real life who miss him terribly. 

His name was Pete. He loved all animals, especially his beloved cat ScOOter and golden retrievers. He loved nature. He was an awesome nature photographer. He loved hiking, and he loved bicycling. Pete had a great sense of humor, and he had the ability to find humor and joy in most everything. He quickly became friends with everyone he met. He was kind and generous. In return, some of his female friends showered him with gifts of homemade preserves, funny socks and a variety of tasty treats.

And then on that August 25, Pete left his car in the parking lot of a local Ohio park, hiked to an old barn, got comfortable, and took his life. His last post ended with the words “I’m home now.” This wasn’t the typical, witty, humorous post that Pete made. It left a lot of people wondering what was going on. Sadly, we soon found out. 

To say his friends were stunned is a huge understatement. Nobody knew he was depressed. Nobody knew he was suffering. If he had reached out to someone, anyone, people would have done anything to help him. Like comedian Robin Williams, who was the funniest man I’ve ever heard, Pete’s humor masked his pain. He suffered in silence until he couldn’t take it anymore.

I am told that there were several reasons -- all speculation -- why Pete decided to take his life. The isolation of Covid. The death of his beloved cat ScOOter. And finally, being forced to vacate the apartment where he had lived for many years so it could be renovated by the management company. Were there other things weighing on Pete’s mind? We will never know.

All of his friends questioned why. Why didn’t he reach out to somebody? Why did none of his friends have the slightest hint that he was suffering? I never met Pete in person. I never spoke to him on the phone. But we were Facebook friends. He always sent me a card and a photo of whichever of my dogs had died. But looking back to when my heart dog Benny, a golden retriever/corgi mix, died in late June, just a couple of months before Pete's passing, I realize Pete didn't send me a condolence card. Was that a subtle indication of what was going on in Pete's mind? 

Because I knew he loved coffee, I would always bring a bag of coffee beans back for Pete when I visited a coffee producing country. Tanzania, Nicaragua, Brazil and other countries I visited provided bags of coffee beans for Pete.

And of course, we shared a love of photography, nature, animals and especially golden retrievers. We both shot with Canon cameras. It was rather unusual to find a fellow Canon enthusiast in a world of Nikon shooters.

Every year for the past several years I have made photo wall calendars and offered them for sale to raise funds for an African charity that works to save African elephants. Pete always ordered six calendars, with different photographic themes, that he would give to some of his friends as Christmas gifts. Last year another friend of his decided to keep this tradition going by ordering six calendars and distributing them for Christmas gifts to some of Pete’s friends. I don’t know whether this tradition will continue this year or not.

Pete and I shared a great love of nature photography, but I was nevertheless stunned to find after his death that he had left one of his Canon lenses to me. I had to purchase an adapter so that it would fit my mirrorless camera, but I took it with me earlier this year on a photography trip to Yosemite National Park. 

The person who handled the distribution of Pete’s personal property also sent me Pete’s large camera bag, along with a variety of filters and other equipment. The filters would not fit any of my cameras, so I mailed them to a mutual friend who could use them. A camera body that I also wasn’t expecting I sent to another friend of Pete’s, as I have all the cameras I need.

It’s so difficult and so very sobering to think that we lost Pete one year ago today. I hope he has been reunited with his beloved ScOOter cat, and that he has found the peace that eluded him during his life on this planet.