Charlie Borlase Obituary, Former Treasurer and President of the FRMC Dies – Death Cause
Charlie Borlase Obituary, Death – The week before last, Charlie Weaver, who had lived a full 80 years, passed away peacefully at home. He was born in Washington, District of Columbia, but spent his childhood years in the state of Pennsylvania. After spending some time in Ann Arbor and a brief period in western Canada, he moved to the area of northern Michigan near Grayling, which eventually became his permanent residence close to the Manistee River. When he was in Ann Arbor, he worked as a teacher for students with special needs.
Because he couldn’t stand the paperwork and bureaucracy, he changed occupations and became a fly-fishing guide in the north. He had a lot of love for teaching and for the pupils he taught, but he just couldn’t stand it. On a regular basis, he guided fishermen from all over the world in pursuit of wild trout on both the Manistee and the Au Sable Rivers from the stern seat of the area’s endemic Au Sable River Boats. These boats are unique to the area. Charlie was a genuine naturalist; in point of fact, one of his lifelong friends refers to him as a “North Woods Renaissance Man.
In addition to the fact that he enjoyed fishing so much, he was an extremely accomplished birder. The most recent version of his life list comprised as many as 950 species from around the world. He was an experienced arborist who was able to identify each and every tree in the forest. Even though he didn’t go hunting, he was an outstanding marksman in high school and won multiple championships. It should come as no surprise that Charlie earned a reputation as a prominent champion for the environment as a result of his work to repair streams, study water quality, and conserve resources.
The Sierra Club greatly appreciated him as a member and his contributions to the organization. For his entire life, he devoted himself to protecting those individuals, species, and unique locations that were unable to defend themselves. He enjoyed going to new places, particularly to observe new species of birds or fish in new trout streams. He went to Australia and New Zealand quite a few times, and he also traveled extensively throughout Mexico and Central America. The musicality of Charlie will be something that many people remember about him.
He had a voice that was exceptionally beautiful, powerful, and resonant, and he was skilled at playing a variety of instruments. Although though he spent most of his career performing the works of other composers, he did write one song in recent years to voice his opposition to the construction of the Line 5 pipeline beneath the Great Lakes. Also, he was known for his role as Jim O’Dell, the “local ne’er-do-well” character in the musical play North Country Opera, which was written by his good buddy Jay Stielstra.
