Dudley was a legend and will be greatly missed.
I remember I was out pheasant hunting with some friends on a crisp late October morning close to the Patrica Hotel. The road to release pheasant release site was not very accessible due to some recent rain fall. My friends and I didn’t have any issues getting in as we had a pick up truck with 4 wheel drive. After shooting our limit of birds, went back to the truck to enjoy a beer and a pepperoni.
While sitting on the tail gate we spotted this dusty green sedan bumping down this muddy rutted out road. We thought who is this crazy bugger he is going to get stuck. As the car pulled up the driver side window rolled down a there sat Dudley. I smiled and thought well if anyone knows these roads, it’s him.
I jokingly said “ Dudley what the hell are you doing here”? He responded with “McEwan! what the hell are you doing here”? He then went on to tell us that it was his 85th and decided to head out to the Patricia Hotel with his dog Copper.
We asked him if he would like to join us hunting and he politely declined, saying we would only slow him down. Ha ha. We had a wee dram and wished him happy birthday. Cooper jumped out of the car Dudley grabbed his gun and they both stomped their way through the tall prairie grass.
As he walked out of sight, my friends commented on his personality, wit, and vibrancy. We all agreed how amazing it is to be chasing down pheasant at 85 by yourself. We could only be so lucky.
Dudley always left an impression.
Mark McEwan
